Doctor charged with assisted suidide

By Scott NeufeldWednesday, August 2, 2006 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_416.php
A Vernon doctor accused of trying to help an elderly patient end her life made his first appearance in court Tuesday.Dr. Ramesh Sharma stared straight ahead, occasionally resting his hand on his chin in a pensive manner at a bail proceeding at the Vernon Law Courts Tuesday afternoon. He rarely looked over to his tearful wife or his office staff, who had gathered in the courtroom.Sharma is charged with aiding a person to commit suicide following an incident in early July in which police allege he gave the woman the means to end her life.The suicide attempt did not succeed, and the woman is still alive, police said, adding staff at a residential-care facility were able to intervene.Vernon RCMP liaison Gordon Molendyk would not release any further details of the case. However, Cpl. Rob Daly told CHBC that a large amount of pills was found in the woman’s room.“If all of those pills had been taken at once, it would have been a lethal dose,” Daly said.The patient, Ruth Wolfe, declined comment, but in an interview with the television station earlier, she described herself as having a sharp mind but a failing body.The 92-year-old said Sharma was her longtime family physician and he shouldn’t be criminally charged.Outside the courtroom, Sharma's lawyer, Mike Tammen, had little to say.Since the defence had not seen the prosecution's evidence, he said that his client is prepared to argue his innocence."We don't have any real disclosure yet, so obviously he would plead not guilty," Tammen said.The Vancouver lawyer would say little else due to a publication ban that sealed information released at the court hearing."I'm very reluctant to put anybody in breach of a ban on publication," he said.The charge could land Sharma a 14-year jail sentence, if convicted.At Tuesday's court hearing, Sharma was released on $50,000 bail and asked to relinquish his British passport. The document will be returned to him later this month to allow him to go on a pre-planned family trip to England, after which he must again give up the passport.His next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 13, two days after he is required to return from his holiday.Alison Paine, communication director for the Interior Health Authority, said her agency is working with the RCMP investigation and would not discuss details.“I do want to say that Dr. Sharma is no longer working on any Interior Health facilities and has not been since we became aware of this incident,” said Paine.Reading from a prepared statement, she said the health authority has no further comment, as the case is now before the courts.