Court hears quack doctor administered beetroot and garlic juice to cancer patients

A man has told an Athens court that a quack doctor, on trial on 12 counts of murder and 14 attempted murders of cancer patients, administered liquids and juices, including beetroot and garlic juice, to his late father after encouraging him to abandon chemotherapy.

The man, whose father died in 2015, was the first of 60 witnesses expected to give evidence in the trial of the so-called “Dr Kontos” on Friday.

The man told the court that when he contacted “Dr Kontos” first about his father, Kontos told him that “doctors administer chemotherapy for bribes from the pharmaceutical industry.”

The fake doctor then recommended a serious of liquid and juice treatments that would cost €7,200, guaranteeing that his father would “get back on his feet.”

The patient’s condition quickly worsened, with the juice intake causing vomiting, bloating and liquid to gather in the lungs. He soon died. 

On Thursday, judges decided to proceed with the trial, even though the defendant is being treated in hospital. [AMNA]