No charges are to be laid against the doctor who failed to report to police he had removed cocaine pellets from a patient's stomach during an emergency procedure late last year at a private hospital. So said acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams yesterday during the weekly media briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain.
Saying the matter had been “thoroughly investigated over several months, Williams said the decision was made on advice from the deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo. He said during the investigation, several people were interviewed, including the doctor, patient, nurses and other hospital personnel and records also were collected from the private hospital.
“However,” he said, "there is no evidence at this point in time which can be used to pursue prosecution against the surgeon or the patient.” But Williams said the police were continuing to “explore investigations.” The investigation was launched after an article published in a daily newspaper in January gave details of the emergency procedure which was allegedly done in December 2013.
At the time, police questioned the circumstances and legality of the procedure, as well as the doctor's failure to report the removal of the illegal drug. The patient, 34, from Arouca, reportedly swallowed 20 cocaine pellets in a bid to smuggle the narcotic. He was later taken for medical attention after he began complaining of stomach pains and bowel obstruction.
On December 21, 2013, he had a laparotomy, a surgical incision into the abdomen, and the drugs were removed during a three-hour operation at the hospital. The man remained warded there until December 30, 2013 when he was transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.