Cuban doctor gets bail

Cuban doctor gets bail The Cuban doctor, who stands accused of raping his colleague at the doctors' residential flats at the Windhoek Central Hospital, has been granted bail of N$10 000.

The 47-year-old Pedro Luis Viera was given bail on Tuesday in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court by Magistrate Gerrit van Pletzen.

His bail application kicked off last week Thursday after he was arrested for the rape of a fellow doctor on the Tuesday.

The court ruled that once the bail amount is paid, Viera may be released from custody, but he must then relocate to Keetmanshoop, where the Cuban medical programme in Namibia offered to accommodate him.

Nampa reported that his lawyer Kadhila Amoomo managed to get him out of jail on Tuesday this week.

The police told Namibian Sun that Pedro visited the victim who is a colleague of his last Wednesday at the Windhoek Central Hospital doctors' flats. According to sources the victim is apparently an intern doctor and works under Viera, who supervises the interns. He apparently made sexual advances towards the intern doctor during his visit and when she refused, he allegedly threatened to kill her. He ultimately raped her, according to the police. The victim told one of her colleagues at work what had happened, who advised her to report the matter to the police.

Nampa further reported that the victim claimed that when Viera made sexual advances at her on an earlier occasion, she refused.

She said he instructed her to take a bath after the incident to get rid of the evidence and threatened to kill her.

Viera, however, maintains it was consensual intercourse and denied ever threatening the victim.

Sources claimed that he apparently has a habit of targeting intern doctors for sexual favours.

The State was represented by Palmer Kumalo.

Viera has to make his next court appearance on 21 January.



ELLANIE SMIT