Dr Death's bid for freedom postponed

Sydney, Mar 14: Dr Jayant Patel, the surgeon accused of fatally botching 17 surgeries at Queensland's Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005, chances of being set free from a jail in Portland, Oregon have been dashed after his bail hearing was pushed to Mar 18. Patel, who is facing extradition to Australia, was due to appear in Portland's District Court today, but a court official said it was common for bail hearings to be moved to fit in with a judge's schedule.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the change means Patel will be forced to spend a week in the high-security Multnomah County Detention Centre in downtown Portland before pleading his case before District Court Judge Dennis J Hubel. Patel, 57, is being housed in a separate cell to protect him from other inmates. FBI officers arrested him at his Portland home on Tuesday. Patel has been charged in Australia with 16 offences, including three counts of manslaughter. If Australia is successful in extraditing Patel, he faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges.

ANI