A surgeon who slapped a female patient across the face after she attacked him on a busy hospital corridor can continue to practise medicine.
Dr Mohammad Din Maarij argued it was a "reflex" action used to defend himself during the unprovoked assault.
The 60-year-old doctor lashed at the woman in front of shocked colleagues after he was ambushed from behind in an A&E unit and struck up to three times.
As a result, the doctor lost his job as a surgical assessment registrar at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Locksbottom, Kent following an internal inquiry.
He then faced being struck off the doctor's register altogether after having to refer himself to the General Medical Council and endure a three year ordeal as he awaited the result of an investigation.
Today it emerged Dr Maarij was cleared of misconduct charges after a disciplinary panel ruled that whilst he had hit the woman, it was not deliberate and he had been "in shock following the unprovoked and unexpected attack from behind".
The ruling means he is free to continue his 35 year career in medicine.
The incident occurred on May 28, 2018 after the woman known only as Patient A had shown signs of "mental illness" after being treated for several hours in the 'Majors A' section of the Emergency Department.
She was walking along a corridor when she accosted Dr Maarij from behind as he stood by a trolley then repeatedly struck him on the head.
According to eye witnesses the doctor held his head, then turned round and told her to 'come here', before striking her on the left side of her head with his open right hand.
Dr Maarij told the hearing he he was using his hand to "defend himself" and maintained he was "pushing" Patient A away, as opposed to deliberately hitting her.
He said: "I believe that she hit me two or three times. I used my left hand to defend my face and with my right hand, I attempted to push her away.
"I pushed her back with my open hand by contacting her face but I am not quite sure about the exact location as everything happened very quick and I was shocked, panicked and scared."
A colleague who works as Associate Specialist in the Emergency Department added in a letter to the tribunal: " Dr Maarij was caught unaware and he hit the lady immediately in what appeared to be a reflex manoeuvre."
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MPTS chairman Damian Cooper said there there was insufficient evidence to prove Maarij was angry at the time of the incident and cleared him of saying 'come here' to Patient A in the moments before he hit her.
He added: "Witnesses had either seen Dr Maarij strike the blow, seen the motion of his arm, or heard the sound of the blow being struck to Patient A's head such that it was sufficiently audible above the noise of department."
He added: "This was an unprovoked attack on a doctor carrying out his duties in a busy department and considered that this would have been a very shocking incident for Dr Maarij.
"There was no 'brawl' between Dr Maarij and Patient A and the Tribunal was not persuaded that Dr Maarij taking a step forward towards Patient A was itself indicative that hitting her was a deliberate act."
He added: "An allegation that a doctor had deliberately struck a patient is a serious allegation but the was of the view that Dr Maarij was in shock following the unprovoked and unexpected attack from behind by Patient A.
"His immediate reaction had been to hold his head, turn and lash out. The incident began and was over extremely quickly. The Tribunal was not satisfied that it had seen sufficient evidence that Dr Maarij had retaliated as part of a conscious intention to do so, as opposed to an unconscious immediate reaction to being hit."
