(Jamaica Gleaner) An alleged quack doctor who reportedly fleeced several residents of western Jamaica out of hundreds of thousands of dollars under the guise that they were being treated by a certified physician will know today whether she will be granted bail.
The accused woman, who goes by various names, including ‘Alicia England’, ‘England McCrane’, and ‘Dr McCrane’, appeared before Parish Judge Sandria Wong-Small in the St James Parish Court on Monday for a bail hearing but was remanded.
On previous occasions, the court had denied bail on the grounds that the defendant’s true identity had not yet been independently verified and she was also considered a potential flight risk.
On Monday, the prosecution said it had still not been able to verify the woman’s identity, prompting her lawyer, Martyn Thomas, to tell Judge Wong-Small that he believed that such an investigation should have taken place at the time of his client’s arrest.
“The prosecution is opposed to bail because they say she poses a flight risk, but it can’t be that Ms McCrane is arrested and charged with these offences, and then she is now being investigated while she is in custody,” said Thomas.
“The prosecution does not have enough to mount a challenge [to the bail application]or to mount a successful prosecution at this stage, and they cannot say when they will be in a position to do so. We would at least like to see Ms England offered bail with a combination of conditions,” said Thomas. Judge Wong-Small subsequently deferred the bail hearing for continuation today.
The accused was arrested in March after she was allegedly discovered posing as a medical doctor in western Jamaica without the requisite qualifications and licence. The Medical Association of Jamaica subsequently issued a warning to the public that people should make checks if they suspect individuals are posing as doctors.
