Corrupt surgeon released from pretrial custody

An Athens surgeon accused of demanding an under-the-table payment from a cancer patient was released from pretrial custody on Monday and ordered to pay 20,000 euros in bail.

The Ippocrateio Hospital doctor was arrested last week after the patient in question filed a complaint to the police, claiming that the surgeon had threatened not to treat him for heavy bleeding following surgery unless the patient paid 600 euros he allegedly "owed" from the operation.

The patient, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, had been operated by the same surgeon twice since June and claims to have given him a total of 2,650 euros.

The surgeon was arrested after the patient paid the 600 euros in marked bills during a sting operation set up by the police.