A former doctor at a Kanagawa Prefecture hospital could face homicide charges after recent findings showed she intentionally pulled out a tracheal tube and administered a fatal dose of muscle relaxant to a comatose man in 1998, resulting in his death, sources said Wednesday.
The latest development in the case of alleged unlawful euthanasia at Kawasaki Kyodo Hospital is based on an examination by a university professor in Tokyo following a request by Kanagawa Prefectural Police, the sources said.
Police plan to question the 47-year-old doctor, who resigned from the hospital in February, with an eye to charging her with murder, according to the sources. The doctor, whose name was not released, now works at a clinic in Yokohama.
Establishment of proof of intent to kill now seems possible with the latest findings, since death was certain after the patient's artificial respirator was disengaged and he was administered with muscle relaxant.