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Fake Psychiatrist Heads Overseas

FAKE psychiatrist and suspected paedophile Vincent Berg has followed Dr Jayant Patel’s lead and fled the country.

Source: The Courier Mail (Paula Doneman / Tanya Chilcott-Moore)

Berg, the subject of a Queensland Health cover-up over his fake psychiatrist qualifications and who is now under investigation for allegedly molesting a Townsville boy, left Australia on Wednesday last week. Queensland Police Service media deputy director Kevin Loomes said preliminary inquiries indicated Berg left for Bangkok out of Brisbane “but it is believed he may have travelled to Tel Aviv (Israel)”.

Australian Federal Police alerted Queensland police about Berg’s movements as he was fleeing but were unable to arrest him because no official complaint had been made. A complaint into his health qualifications was made the next day. Police are now relying on Interpol to track him down.

Mr Loomes said police had also “put out an alert at all airports just in case he does come back”. The bogus psychiatrist treated more than 250 patients while working at the Townsville General Hospital and has been on the run since his fake qualifications were revealed.

The Beattie Government now faces the prospect of another costly extradition process if a decision is made to charge Berg. A police spokeswoman said detectives would only be able to issue an arrest warrant for Berg if they established he had committed an offence. Senior police sources said detectives would now be interviewing all of the families with children to whom Berg made home visits as a Townsville hospital psychiatrist.

That investigation was launched after a Townsville mother rang a hotline set up for former Berg patients when his fake qualifications were revealed. The mother alleged her teenage son was molested by Berg during a private counselling session after Berg convinced her and the rest of the family to leave the house.

Police are also investigating Berg’s medical qualifications in a separate fraud investigation.

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