Opposition challenges Brown investigation
The police raid on former premier Ewart Brown’s medical clinics has elicited concern from the Opposition, which issued a statement today calling for “a swift resolution to this lengthy and costly investigation”.
By Dr Brown’s own estimation, the police corruption probe of his affairs has taken close to six years. It was revealed by this newspaper in July 2016 that the case had cost authorities $2.2 million.
This afternoon’s statement from the Progressive Labour Party questioned the impact of the latest police action on Dr Brown, along with family, employees and patients using his practice, where records were seized over the weekend by the officers from the Organised and Economic Crime Department.
According to a police spokesman, “significant steps” were taken to protect the confidential information and ensure that “patient safety is not jeopardised in any way”.
The PLP statement protested that persons should not be subjected to “seemingly unlimited” criminal investigation, adding: “It is disturbing that the confidentiality of patients’ sensitive medical files has been potentially put at risk and caused concern to those individuals”.
In a statement of his own, Dr Brown vowed to challenge the seizure of data, and a source connected with the matter told The Royal Gazette that an unspecified judge had ordered the return of the records on Monday afternoon.