Q’land authorities facing flak over delay in Patel extradition

The authorities in Queensland has been slammed for delay in extradition of an India-born surgeon linked to a string of patient deaths.

The authorities in Queensland are facing flak for the delay in the extradition of an India-born surgeon linked to a string of patient deaths in the Australian state, with opposition leaders accusing them of failing to do proper paperwork to bring him back from the US.

Jayant Patel’s return to Australia “had plainly been delayed by more than a year”, federal opposition legal affairs spokesman Senator George Brandis said.

The case has “clearly been grossly mishandled by the Queensland Director of Public Prosecution’s office,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The Australian’ today.

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While Patel’s arrest was imminent, the US Department of Justice referred Australia’s request to authorities in Oregon only on January 30. “It took six attempts by the office of the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions over more than 16 months to draw up proper documentation before a formal request for extradition could be lodged,” the report said.

Brandis said “Sixteen months seems to be a very long period of time …(for) the Queensland DPP to get their act together.”

Patel, dubbed “Dr Death” by the media here, has been blamed for at least 17 deaths and numerous injuries at Bundaberg Base Hospital, near the Queensland central coast, where he worked as director of surgery before leaving for the US in April 2005.

Comments from Brandis came at this week’s hearing of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, during which Maggie Jackson from the Attorney-General’s office informed that the extradition was “an iterative process”.

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Jackson, a first assistant secretary attached to the International Crime Co-operation Division of the Attorney-General’s Department, said she first became involved in June 2006. However, the formal request for extradition was not made until October 2 last year, 16 months later.

Jackson said, “Many draft documents were sent to the US for consideration before then.”

On October 19, the US told Jackson they were still dissatisfied with the material.

Jackson said one issue involved “the difference between negligence and recklessness in establishing dual criminality”.

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Before a country agrees to extradition, it must be proven the alleged conduct would also constitute an offence in that country.

Meanwhile, delays in Patel’s extradition have strengthened his resolve to fight it, according to one of his friends.

Vijay Mehta, a surgeon based in Texas and a friend of the doctor, said Patel would fight the extradition.

“Initially, when all this tsunami of all the news and everything came, he was so disheartened he said there was nothing he could do,” Mehta said, according to ‘The Australian’.

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He was mentally prepared to just come and serve a life sentence just to make everybody happy,’ he said adding, “but in the meantime, while these people are fumbling and mumbling and pulling all these different things, he got some time to think about it and said: ‘I have not done anything wrong, and I am willing to speak about it’.

“So, I have a feeling that one day you will hear from Patel, not as an extradited criminal, but he will give his side of the story once this is all over,” he said.

Mehta said the Patel family would do “whatever it takes” to stop him from being extradited to Australia.