An unsupervised general worker had administered morphine to a French-Canadian drug addict who came to South Africa for treatment at the Minds Alive Wellness Centre in Durban but died two days later, the owner of the illegal clinic admitted this week.
Under cross-examination in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, dentist Anwar Mohamed Jeewa, 58, also said no medical staff were present when the morphine was given in November 2017.
Jeewa, whose unregistered detox and rehabilitation centre in Westville touted ibogaine therapy as an addiction cure, is charged with the murder of Milos Martinovic, 26, whose death was attributed to an Alprazolam (Xanax) overdose, reports The Witness.
Last month, Jeewa had unsuccessfully asked the court to strike off the murder charge, among others, which include unlawfully selling a schedule 6 substance; unlawfully manufacturing a schedule 6 substance; exporting a schedule 6 substance and establishing and managing an unregistered treatment centre.
When Judge Rashid Vahed questioned Jeewa about how he allowed, and under whose guidance, morphine had been administered to Martinovic, the dentist said he obtained a script from a doctor who was assisting him at the centre, and that the general worker had given it to Martinovic.
In cross-examination, senior state advocate Nadira Moosa asked Jeewa whether or not he had told Martinovic he was a dentist and not a medical doctor. Jeewa then said that he had told his patient he would receive his treatment from an enrolled nurse and not a registered nurse.
In argument, Moosa said Martinovic’s fiancée had testified that Jeewa never told them he was not a medical doctor.
Jeewa told the court Martinovic was a functional addict and was given morphine on the day of admission – a day before treatment started – as he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
“Knowing he was a functional addict and seemed responsible, we left his Xanax and Oxycontin with him. On the Monday, I was notified that he was uncomfortable and experiencing withdrawal symptoms, so I told the man who was assisting him to give him some morphine.”
He has pleaded not guilty. The case continues.
The Witness article – Murder accused dentist cross-examined (Open access)
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Dentist fails to have charges over patient’s death dismissed
Dentist pleads not guilty to patient’s murder in ‘detox’ clinic
State has until September to finalise culpable homicide case against Durban dentist