French court jails doctor for life for poisoning 30 patients, killing 12

BESANÇON: A French court on Thursday sentenced a doctor to life in jail for poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, in an alleged attempt to discredit co-workers.

Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anesthetist in two clinics in the eastern city of Besancon, when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 and 2017. 

Twelve could not be resuscitated.

Pechier’s youngest alleged victim, four-year-old Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery in 2016.

“You will be incarcerated immediately,” presiding judge Delphine Thibierge said.

Pechier, who has denied wrongdoing and not been detained since the start of the probe, appeared unmoved.

The doctor’s oldest alleged victim was 89.

An investigation was launched in 2017, after suspicious cardiac arrests during operations on patients otherwise considered low-risk.