http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/NO-CHARGE--FOR-DOC-280876542.htmlActing CoP: No evidence in cocaine surgery case
By Anna Ramdass anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Oct 29, 2014 at 11:16 PM ECT
Story Updated: Oct 30, 2014 at 8:55 AM ECT
There is no evidence to charge the doctor or the patient in the case where the doctor removed cocaine pellets from the patient’s stomach and handed them back to him.
Speaking at the weekly police news conference yesterday, acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams said following the exclusive report in the Express in January this year about the secret surgery, the matter was “thoroughly investigated” over several months.
He said the investigation involved the interview of a patient, interviews of doctors, nurses and hospital personnel, and collection of records from the private hospital.
Williams said at the end of the investigation the advice of the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo, was obtained by the investigators and, based on this advice, there is no evidence at this point in time which can be used to pursue prosecution against the surgeon or the patient.
But “the Police Service is continuing to explore investigations into that matter and other matters coming out of the investigation”, Williams said.
However, FIXIN’ T&T is calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) to review the case where cocaine pellets were removed from a patient’s stomach and handed back to him during surgery at the St Augustine Private Hospital in December 2013.
The call was made yesterday by the group said it was incomprehensible that after investigations, no one would be charged or held accountable in the matter.
Sources told the Express the doctor denied cocaine pellets were removed from the patient, and since the “pellets” were given back to the patient there was no evidence of it.
The Express had obtained actual photographs of the pellets, which sources at the hospital confirmed were filled with cocaine.
On the heels of Williams’s comments, FIXIN’ T&T issued a release calling for the case to be re-examined.
“FIXIN’ T&T calls for a review of the advice provided to the police by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo regarding the matter of pellets removed from the stomach of a patient at a private hospital. It is at odds with opinions in law of both the late Dana Seetahal, SC, and the United Kingdom-based Medical Protection Society (MPS). Further we seek to ascertain if said advice was verbal or written,” it stated.
The activist group also called for the PCA to review the investigation conducted by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
It noted the allegations the pellets were removed from the stomach of a patient at the St Augustine Private Hospital by a doctor and then handed back to the patient have never been denied.
“It is beyond our comprehension therefore, that after a prolonged and efficient police investigation no charges will be laid and no one held accountable,” stated FIXIN’ T&T.
Browne: One law for the rich, one for the poor
Opposition MP Amery Browne, who had raised the matter in Parliament, told the Express yesterday Williams’s comments that no one will be prosecuted in the cocaine case proves there is one law for the rich and another for the poor in this country.
“The silence on this matter by the Minister of Health and the so-called police investigation that ended in a report of ‘case closed’ are further indications that in this land there is one law for the rich and powerful and one law for the ordinary citizen,” he said.
Browne noted that months ago when he raised the matter in the Parliament, he indicated that in such cases, it is critical to follow the money. “In addition, there should have been a thorough grilling of all witnesses and participants, as well as a review of camera systems within and in close proximity to the clinic,” he said.
Browne said it has been many years since this country has had any major arrests of any big players in the cocaine industry because they have been able to purchase safety and protection at all levels of society.
“In this episode our law enforcement had a rare opportunity to capitalise on a slip in a cocaine export operation... and they have failed yet again,” he said.
“So it is business as usual up at that clinic, and the sad message being sent to other health care providers and to the nation’s children is that the existing loopholes are large enough that you can facilitate the cocaine industry and get away with it,” he added.
