Sharing medical advice and selling medication online earned Matthew Lani thousands of followers.

Using a surgical mask and stethoscope, Mr Lani attempted to bypass security on Sunday night.

Before being caught, he jumped out of a bathroom window to escape police custody.

According to a statement released by the Gauteng province Department of Health, Mr Lani frequently used the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg where he was caught “curating misleading content under the pretense that he was a doctor”.

Before his account was closed, he had almost 300,000 followers on TikTok. Then he opened another, which has more than 50,000 followers.

A manhunt lasting several weeks followed questions about his qualifications that led to his arrest.

According to Mr Lani, he graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg with a medical degree. According to the institution, this is not the case.

He did not even receive a school-leaving certificate, according to the Department of Education.

The suspect claimed he was Dr Sanele Zingelwa, a second-year medical intern at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.

Mr Lani has been charged with fraud by Dr Zingelwe.

In South Africa, Mr Lani is just the latest person to be arrested on charges of impersonating a doctor.

Over the last three years, there have been 124 arrests of this nature, according to the Ministry of Health.