Guyanese Physician Dr Vishwamintra Persaud is battling to remain in practice following revelations about his conviction in the US for a sexual offence. He was trained in the United States and later employed there as a medical doctor.
This doctor has since remigrated to his homeland and is trying to make a new start in life only to find out that his past has come back to haunt him, and the new start he envisioned seems to be evaporating before his very eyes.
The matter is now before the Medical Council of Guyana which must decide whether to allow him to practise medicine here or debar him altogether.
In my view this gentleman should be allowed to practise because he has done nothing wrong here in Guyana. The crime for which he is accused was committed in the United States where he received just punishment; as the saying goes, he did the crime and did the time.
I do not see why he should be penalised a second time in another jurisdiction. Should he be sentenced for this crime ad infinitum? The answer is no; the law requires that a person found guilty receives punishment commensurate with the crime.
Dr Persaud has paid the price for his misconduct, has been rehabilitated and is willing to move on with his life.
I must make it abundantly clear that I am not trivialising the offence, far from it; I take crimes of child abuse very seriously, but we must not forget that we have all transgressed in some way or another and should be very cautious in our rush to judgement.
He has committed a crime just like any other and in his remorse should be given a second chance.
Dr Persaud is here to save lives and he deserves the chance to do it; let’s give him back his life as he is already in the process of giving us back ours.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
