Friday, 29 March, 2024
HomeMedico-LegalGauteng specialist gets suspended jail sentence for culpable homicide

Gauteng specialist gets suspended jail sentence for culpable homicide

A specialist physician has been sentenced to six years imprisonment – suspended for five years – for culpable homicide after he bungled a procedure on a patient. According to a Beeld report, Dr Whitney Mentor (42) who works from MediClinic Vanderbijlpark, pleaded guilty to the charge. He admitted that he inserted a drainage pipe at the wrong position for teenage patient Franzel van den Bergh. While the drainage pipe was supposed to drain blood from her chest, it damaged a key artery and van den Bergh started to bleed internally and died.

Judge William Karan handed down the sentence while Mentor wept and apologised to the parents.

[link url="https://www.netwerk24.com/Nuus/Hof/nalatige-internis-spring-tronk-vry-na-pasient-sterf-20180912"]Beeld report (subscription needed)[/link]

MedicalBrief — our free weekly e-newsletter

We'd appreciate as much information as possible, however only an email address is required.