A student surveyor has been kicked out of the RICS after being jailed for nine months.

Alan Chapman failed to disclose his mobile phone passcode to police when he was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and possession of controlled drugs.

Chapman from Guernsey, who was a trainee quantity surveyor, was expelled by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors after informing the body himself that he had been in prison.

Thrown out

A RICS tribunal gave Chapman credit for bringing his conviction to their attention, but decided that he must still be thrown out.

“The member has pleaded guilty to the offence in question, the seriousness of which is demonstrated by the fact of the imposition of a custodial sentence,” said tribunal panel member Glenn Mathieson.

“Whilst I acknowledge that, for whatever reason, the drugs related matters were not ultimately pursued, it is nonetheless relevant to note that the member’s refusal to disclose took place in the context of a legitimate investigation into serious criminal offences.”

Something to hide

And he said that, as the judge pointed out, “the failure to disclose is indicative of the member having ‘something to hide’, and therefore denotes a degree of deceptiveness”.

Mathieson said it was important to maintain the reputation of the surveying profession, and it was in the ‘public interest’ to take disciplinary action against Chapman.

He ordered Chapman to pay costs of £650 to the RICS.

Read the full judgement here

Surveyor expelled from RICS for ‘dishonesty and lack of integrity’