PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Oct 16, CMC – A tribunal appointed by the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago (MBTT) has dismissed a complaint seeking to suspend or revoke the temporary medical licence of cardiologist Dr Conrad Murray following his manslaughter conviction in connection with the death of pop superstar, Michael Jackson.
“The ruling does not determine the merits of the complaint nor exonerate the Respondent (Dr Murray) of the substantive complaint,” said attorney, Shankar Bidaisee, who chaired the Tribunal.
“This decision underscores the fundamental requirement that disciplinary proceedings must be conducted fairly and impartially, in a manner that maintains public confidence in its processes,” Bidaisee is quoted as saying in a report published Friday by the Trinidad Guardian newspaper.
On June 25, 2009, Jackson, 50, died at his Los Angeles home from cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of propofol and benzodiazepines. The medication had been administered by the Grenadian-born Dr Murray to help Jackson sleep.
Dr Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter and was convicted by a California jury in November 2011. Although he was sentenced to four years in prison, he was released after serving just under half of his sentence, partly because of prison overcrowding and good behaviour.
In May 2023, Dr Murray opened DCM Medical Institute here and the disciplinary proceedings against him were based on a complaint brought by the Board under Section 24 of the Medical Board Act in June 2018.
Under the legislation, the Board is entitled, after an inquiry, to censure, reprimand, suspend or revoke a practitioner’s temporary licence if the practitioner has been convicted of a crime or has engaged in infamous or disgraceful professional conduct.
But when Dr Murray’s trial before the tribunal commenced in April, his lawyer, Kiel Takalalsingh, took issue with delays in raising the complaint and conducting the disciplinary process.
Takalalsingh during the cross-examination of one of the witnesses got him to admit that he had been approached by a doctor to provide a witness statement in the matter.
Takalalsingh immediately called for the proceedings to be paused so the tribunal could consider the implications of the admission.
On resumption, the three-member tribunal raised concerns about the continued participation of the witness, who eventually agreed to recuse himself.
In the ruling, the tribunal said that a fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that the witness was biased and that “this conduct went beyond an ordinary administrative interaction.
“This concern is heightened by the significance of Dr Baggan’s evidence, his knowledge of the relevant records and the importance of his credibility to the Complainant’s case,” the tribunal said, adding that it could not continue to preside over the case in the absence of the witness.
“The remaining members of the Tribunal considers it procedurally unfair and contrary to natural justice to proceed with hearing and determining the evidence of (former MBTT secretary Dr Peter) Baggan despite knowing the same was procured by the then chairman of the Tribunal on behalf a party to the proceedings,” Bidaisee said.
CMC/ag/ir/2026