This is a nightmare

A 57-YEAR-OLD medical doctor, who is a specialist gynaecologist, told Newsday yesterday he was forced to cut short his attendance at an International medical conference in South America, in order to return to Trinidad yesterday to surrender to police, who issued a warrant for his arrest on a rape charge. The prominent doctor spoke openly to Newsday yesterday about the allegation made against him by one of his female patients. “This is like a bad dream, a nightmare,” the doctor told Newsday. “My daughter telephoned me on Friday in Miami, about a warrant being issued by the police for my arrest and I returned from Miami last night. I will this morning be accompanied by my attorneys to the San Fernando Police Headquarters. I have nothing to hide,” the doctor told Newsday. Two weeks ago, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, issued instructions to the police to charge the doctor with the offence which was allegedly committed on April 8. Last Friday, a warrant was obtained by the police complainant WPC McDowell, to arrest the doctor, but it was later learnt that he was out of the country.

The doctor told Newsday yesterday that he had been attending a conference in South America over the weekend. Denying that he ever committed the act for which he is charged, the doctor said he was “terribly embarrassed and humiliated” by the allegation. He described details of examining a 22-year-old woman on April 8, 2003, and being accused of rape by her boyfriend a week later. The doctor, who said he qualified to practise medicine in the 1970s and graduated as a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said he examined thousands of female patients in the past and was never accused of sexual misconduct. “I want to state here that the truth will be revealed in court of my innocence. Even more than that,  of attempts being made to extort money from me after the allegation was made,” the doctor said. “I intend to fight this tooth and nail....the person or persons will get their just reward in court,” the doctor, in an emotional tone, said. He told Newsday that he would be accompanied by his attorneys Khemraj Harrikissoon and Winston Seunath, to Police Headquarters, around nine o’clock today. The doctor said he had retained Senior Counsel Israel Khan to defend him on the charge which is expected to be laid indictably. Once he surrenders to police today, the warrant will be executed on him and he will appear before a San Fernando magistrate where the charge will be read out.