A Durban dentist who was found guilty of culpable homicide after the death of a man at his “rehabilitation centre” has protested his innocence, saying his conviction is a “miscarriage of justice”.
Judge Rashid Vahed found Anwar Mohamed Jeewa guilty of culpable homicide and five “statutory counts” of unlawful selling of a schedule 6 substance, compounding or dispensing of a schedule 6 substance, unlawful manufacture of a schedule 6 substance, export of a schedule 6 substance and establishing and managing an unregistered treatment centre, reports The Sunday Tribune.
Canadian Milos Martinovic had come to South Africa in 2017 to seek Jeewa’s help to rehabilitate himself from drug addiction – but at the illegal Minds Alive Wellness Centre, Jeewa gave him drugs he knew he should not have given to the patient, resulting in him having a heart attack.
The dentist had previously advertised himself as a specialist with extensive knowledge in ibogaine therapy for drug addiction, reports TimesLIVE. He had attended several conferences on ibogaine where he was advised and himself advised others that ibogaine should not be used to treat an addiction to benzodiazepines.
When Martinovic arrived at the rehab facility, he had been allowed to keep 16 boxes of Xanax he had brought with him, had been allowed to self-medicate, and had been given Ibogaine without Jeewa first testing the residual levels of Xanax in his body; there had been no monitoring of his vital signs, and there was no emergency procedure in place.
He had been given several doses of ibogaine capsules by a nurse, but went into cardiac arrest after the last dose. The nurse then failed to employ the emergency response measures and delayed calling for assistance.
The judge said the evidence showed there had been no constant monitoring, there were no emergency measures in place, and a “crash cart” was on another floor and not fetched when Martinovic went into cardiac arrest.
When Jeewa arrived, he failed to undertake a proper resuscitation.
The post-mortem recorded a drug-associated death consistent with an alprazolam overdose. Ibogaine was detected in the deceased’s blood.
Vahed found Jeewa not guilty of murder, saying the dentist had no desire to cause Martinovic’s death, but “there were no antidotes or drugs available for the nurse to administer and he did not have an intravenous line attached to him”.
Sentencing is expected to take place on 12 September when state advocate Nadira Moosa is likely to ask he be jailed.
Sunday Tribune – Durban dentist fights homicide conviction (Open access)
TimesLIVE – Durban dentist guilty of culpable homicide at detox clinic
More from MedicalBrief archives
Durban dentist charged with culpable homicide
Durban dentist admits addict got morphine without supervision