‘Fake Doctor’ freed after prosecution fails to produce witnesses

PRINCIPAL Magistrate

Judy Latchman, on Monday, dismissed the case against Mikhail McLennon who had allegedly impersonated a medical doctor, owing to the non-appearance of witnesses.

McLennon, 27, of Pattensen, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown was before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court.

He made his first court appearance in October 2022, and denied that, on June 3,

2022, at Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, he pretended to Bibi Hassan that he was a person qualified to practise medicine.

He was out on $80,000 bail.

On Monday, McLennon’s trial was scheduled to commence, but the prosecution failed to produce witnesses.

Citing numerous delays in the case, Magistrate Latchman dismissed the case due to want of prosecution.

He was represented by at- torney Bernard DaSilva.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that McLennon’s qualifications were first publicly called into question in June when Hassan, the president of Guyana Cancer Foundation, distanced the organisation from him. McLennon was previously named as an affiliate of the organisation.

“Guyana Cancer Foundation wishes to notify the general public that Mikhail Radius McLennon is not a doctor and they [sic] are no records showing he is registered at [the] Medical Council of Guyana. He had asked to volunteer with Guyana Cancer Foundation.

I took him as a volunteer but then persons from the media and others called to confirm that he is not a doctor. I questioned him about his Medical Degree, and he refused to send a copy of it to us. He said he is working as a Medical Officer/Pharmacist at ROK Pharmacy and there is no such pharmacy exist [sic]! He [is] no longer affiliated with Guyana Cancer Foundation!” Hassan had shared on social media.

Region Four from 2018 to 2022 was five working days. The waiting time from May 2022 to October 2022 was 40 working days.

“This is simply because of that transition to a new method of producing the passport and the large number of requests that we recently had concerning obtaining the passport. This is because many of the banks and other institutions required a second method of identification,” the minister explained.

From 2018 to date, the waiting time to receive a passport after an application is made at the sub-offices is seven days.

Shortly after, the DPP approached the Appeal Court seeking to overturn the High Court’s ruling. The Appeal Court after hearing the case, ordered that Bisram be retried for the murder.

However, Bisram challenged that decision at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) where he was finally vindicated.

The CCJ ruled that it would be “unjust” in all of the circumstances, for Bisram to be made to answer any charge of murder on the same evidence as was presented to the magistrate, and on which he had been freed twice.

A copy of a document reported to be McLennon’s curriculum vitae was also published by the foundation.