A doctor who placed a fake gay escort advert giving the details of a builder he had fallen out with has been fined more than £2,000.
After the pair fell out over a fence, Dr Suthan Ulakanathan (37), of Croydon posted two ads on the Vivastreet site with Stephen Hay’s name and phone number.
Croydon magistrates heard that the postings invited men into the home of a “30-year-old white male” and that they were open to all types.
As he was constantly bombarded by calls, Mr Hay became more paranoid. He even had complete strangers show up at his home for sex.
Dr Ulakanathan was held responsible for his actions in court. He cited his mental issues after losing his father to Covid and his uncle to Covid. He was also diagnosed with post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after battling on front lines during the pandemic.
The ‘highly regarded’ GP denied harassment but was convicted and ordered to pay a £2,200 fine and almost £1,000 in other costs.
He will soon face a misconduct inquiry at the General Medical Council to determine whether or not it is possible for him to be struck off.
Melanie Hardwick, the Prosecutor, stated: “The defendant employed Mr Hay, who is a sole-trader, a roofer and self-employed back August last year to do work on fences.
“There was a dispute in connection with that.
‘The parties parted ways, and Mr Hay received a telephone call from someone stating that they had obtained the number through a site that provides various services. They wanted to ask him if he wanted a meeting.
Mr Hay was shocked to see his name, address, and phone number on the website.
It said, “If free come to my.” All information is confidential and completely free. White young man aged 30 years old. All types are welcome. All types are welcome.
The website removed the ad at Mr Hay’s request, but he was shocked to see another similar ad appear on November 14, according to the court.
Croydon Magistrates’ Court found Dr Suthan Uthan Kanthan (pictured) guilty of harassing his builder twice on a website called Viva Street, which sells sexual favours.
This made Mr Hay paranoid, anxious, and didn’t even know who was calling.
Ms Hardwick stated that ‘he had to answer his phone because he was sole trader for his roofwork’.
“There was also once a person who came to his house and asked for sexual services. This caused him a lot stress.”
Dr Ulakanathan was taken into custody in February after he admitted that he had put the ads up.
Ms Hardwick said that he explained that he was having a difficult time during this period due to the unexpected deaths of his uncle and father after he had Covid and worked as a doctor during pandemic.
As evidence, Mr Hay said that the dispute began when Dr Ulakanathan refused his request to pay him the full sum for the job.
He said that he was at a pub with a friend and received a message saying “hey you” along with a heart emoji. It was from an unknown number.
Mr Hay stated that he thought it might have been one of his ex-girlfriends.
“I texted back to inquire about this. It was an Indian accented man speaking to me.
‘He said: “I got your number on Vivastreet.”‘
At first, Mr Hay thought the man had contacted him to build work. But the man then asked Mr Hay to meet him ‘for a good laugh’.
“From there it continued, quite some people messaging me at different times at night.
“Every day, but also quite late times, in the morning.”
Mr Hay, a soldier for five-years, claimed that the constant barrage messages caused his PSTD.
Over 60 calls and messages were received in response to the ad. There were also scam calls from fraudsters who had his phone.
The last straw for Mr Hay came when a man went to his house for sex.
He said, ‘My mom was there alone when he arrived. She called me. I was down the road and I spoke to him.
“I said, “Look, someone is impersonating my”, and the bloke was very embarrassed. I decided to call the police.
“It put my mum at risk, as she has emphysema. But it also puts these people at risk.
The 37-year-old claimed that Steven Hay, 30, an ex-soldier (pictured), raped him over a job on a fence and forced him to pay another worker for it
“What if someone is homophobic?
Ms. Hardwick explained earlier that even now, a simple Google search for Mr Hay’s number will lead to the escort advertisement.
She said that ‘He must answer the phone because is roofer and has had many people calling him for sexual services’.
Dr Ulakanathan, who was giving evidence, told the court that he had lost his father Ulaganathan Subramaniam (65), and uncle Sivananthan (56) to the Covid pandemic.
When asked about his mental state in September last year, he replied: “I was still grieving at that time.”
‘[My father]Since we hadn’t had any funerals, we hadn’t been in a position to give my mum a hug .
He described the ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘challenging nature of working in healthcare during the pandemic.
“It was day-to-day stress and being reminded about Covid every single day.
Dr Ulakanathan stated that the difficulty was people not being able to recognize the virus and not taking proper measures. He also said that it was difficult for him to help them deal with it professionally.
The court heard that the GP was suffering from PTSD following his experience at the frontline during the pandemic. He was currently on medication.
Dr. Hays stated that he had hired him to fix his fence to make it look nice for his mum, who used to babysit for him often, and to pay tribute to his father.
Dr Ulakanathan claimed that they had a disagreement over payment. Mr Hay demanded a large portion of the money before the work was done. The GP previously told the court that the roofer had ripped him off and that he was a ‘cowboy.
“At that point, he said that if I didn’t pay, he was going down the fence. He knows where I live and where my daughter and wife live.
‘At this point I told he “let us conclude the work, and leave it at that,” he replied.
He claimed that he had posted the first ad to play a prank on his child and that he was just trying to ‘wind up Mr Hay’.
“At that time I was dealing in grief. He said that he was feeling low and that the grief had caused him to act in a childish, silly way.
“It wasn’t my intention that anyone should come to his home or that he be threatened or made nervous or in distress.”
Dr Ulakanathan stated that he wasn’t certain the first ad had gone up, so he posted the 2nd one.
He told the court that he first heard about the ad being up when police arrived at his home and arrested him in front his family.
He described his experience in a police station as a surreal one. He said that it was the first time he had been interviewed or been inside a station.
“At the time, I just wanted to apologize to my wife and daughter .
Dr Ulakanathan claimed that the ads were not illegal, as they weren’t abusive, and that Mr Hays’ address was already online.
The ‘highly regarded’ GP denied harassment but was convicted and ordered to pay a £2,200 fine and almost £1,000 in other costs at Croydon Magistrates’ Court (pictured)
He said, “I didn’t hide any of my details, I used my personal number, and I didn’t hide my IP address,”
Ms Stevens asked him this question: “If you understood it was crime or could you be viewed as a criminal would you act in that way?”
The doctor replied, “Absolutely no, it would be my career’s end.”
The prosecutor said to him: “You must have known that by placing his number on a web site that other people wanted the services of a gay chauffeur were going to call you,”
‘I didn’t expect anybody to call.
Dr Ulakanathan stated, “I didn’t think people would just call an online number because I hadn’t been exposed to something similar before.”
Ms Hardwick pointed to him that both advertisements invited punters to simply turn up at Mr Hay’s address.
Ms. Hardwick said to him: “Didn’t you think it was incredibly risky given that you were giving out someone’s home address and inviting people seeking sexual services to come up at any time?”
Dr Ulakanathan was sadly unimpressed by the response.
The GP denied but was convicted of harassment and fined £2,200.
He was also ordered to pay £720 in costs and a £190 victim surcharge.
Adrian Turner QC, Deputy District Judge, said that Dr Ulakanathan had an “exemplary record” and was highly regarded by his colleagues.
He said, “This is a very unusual case because of the conduct is admitted.”
‘There were many matters on Dr Ulakanathan’s mind at that time.
“He was still grieving. He was still working because of Covid, worried about his family. I understand all of this.
“But the law states that you should have known your conduct was sufficient in order to cause the consequences (of the law) described in that section.”
Dr Ulakanathan is a Caterham resident and lives in South Croydon. He wore a navy suit, white shirt, navy polka dot tie, and a surgical face mask.
In light of his conviction, he will now face a General Medical Council misconduct hearing.