Dr. Vishwamintra Persaud, the man credited for delivering a ‘miracle’ baby at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), is a convicted child sex felon who had his doctor’s licence revoked in New York in 2007.
Contacted today Dr Persaud told Stabroek News that he was willing to speak but he had to be granted permission by his superiors. He said he had been granted a licence to practice here by the Medical Council of Guyana
According to New York Department of Health documents on April 18, 2008 Dr Persaud was found guilty, based on a guilty plea, of “attempted course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree”. On June 11 the same year he was sentenced to an eight-year order of protection, ten years probation, a US$25,500 fine and various fees and surcharges.
Dr Persaud abused the child from 2003 to October 2007 and only stopped after an adult was told. His licence, # 207867, was revoked in November 2007 following a hearing before the State of New York: Department of Health State Board for Professional Medical Conduct.
Two Sundays ago Dr Persaud had helped to safely deliver 19-year-old Shinnel George’s baby. George was at the time suffering from high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia usually develops after 20 weeks into gestation. The placenta creates a chemical substance which causes damage to the mother’s blood vessels as well as liver and could result in the low birth rate (Intra Uterine Growth Retardation) of the baby.
Observers say the granting of the licence by the medical council raises questions about the quality of vetting that applicants are placed under.
