Dr Death held in US, to be extradited to Australia

India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, charged with manslaughter and negligence for the death of 17 patients in Australia, was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation at his home in the US state of Oregon and would be fighting his extradition.

Dubbed as 'Dr Death' by the media in Australia, Patel, 57, can get a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. He was ordered held by Portland Judge Dennis Hubel, pending a bail hearing on Thursday and will face an extradition hearing on April 10.

Patel, who was working at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Australia's Queensland state since 2003, fled to the US in April 2005, a month after an inquiry that initially linked him to 87 deaths allegedly caused by botched operations.
 
Patel would fight his extradition as he was not sure of getting a fair trial in Australia where the media had demonised him, his friend Vijay Mehta, a Texas surgeon, said.

"His wife has told me the best chance he has got is to fight extradition because they are not sure that they can even expect a fair trial in Australia with all the publicity and the demonising," Mehta was quoted as saying by AAP.

He said Patel was 'in good spirits and just went with them (FBI sleuths)'.

The Australian government, which claimed to have spent a staggering 1.25 million dollars to get Patel arrested, said it was very pleased with the US cooperation in the case.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia had issued an arrest warrant for Patel in the US and he was arrested on Monday.

"Consequently, extradition proceedings are underfoot," he said.

Patel, who hails from Jamnagar, Gujarat, had moved to the US in 1977 and was banned from surgery in the US states of New York and Oregon before he arrived in Australia.

According to a statement released by the Oregon state prosecutor, the charges against Patel include three counts of manslaughter, three counts of grievous bodily harm, two counts of negligent acts or omissions causing harm, five counts of fraud, plus a further two counts of fraud and one count of attempted fraud.

The maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment. The other charges carry jail terms ranging from two-and-a-half to 14 years.

During the brief hearing on Wednesday, Patel reportedly asked for a public defender to represent him, saying he could not afford a lawyer.

The Queensland government, however, said courts in Australia can give a fair trial to Patel.

"My own view is that the reputation enjoyed by the courts of this country is that they are capable of giving a defendant a fair trial," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.

She denied claims the government feared what Patel would reveal about the health system if he were on trial.
 
"I have no fears about the court proceedings," Bligh said, adding, "I want those court proceedings, like any court proceedings, to be open and transparent, and on the public record."

A patient support group in Australia has, meanwhile, expressed relief at his arrest.

Bundaberg Hospital Patients Support Group co-convenor Beryl Crosby said she passed the information to other former patients.

"We made a pact that they were to be told and they were very excited and relieved," she said, adding that the group would now sit back and let justice take its course.