BRISBANE, Australia, July 1 (UPI) -- An Australian surgeon was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for causing the deaths of three patients during operations.
Jayant Patel can apply for parole when he has completed half his term in December 2013, the Brisbane Times reported.
Patel, 60, was convicted Tuesday of three counts of manslaughter and one of grievous bodily harm after a 14-week trial. The last count involved a patient whose intestines were permanently damaged.
The surgeon was nicknamed Dr. Death after questions were raised about his record.
Rob Messenger, who represents Bundaberg in the Queensland Parliament, called the sentence "totally inadequate."
''We'd been hoping for a decision that would restore our faith in the Queensland legal system,'' Messenger said. ''The police did their job, the prosecutors did their job, the jury did their job and I'll leave it at that.''
But Judy Kemps, a former patient, said she was less worried about the sentence than the verdict.
"It doesn't upset me because he has been found guilty and stripped of his career," she said.
