Milan Brych (born 11 December 1939) is a Czech-born cancer therapist. He was removed from the New Zealand Medical Register in 1977 and in 1980 he was convicted of practising medicine without a licence in California.
Brych fled the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and arrived in New Zealand as a refugee. Claiming to have medical professional qualifications, Brych commenced work as a medical practitioner. After being removed from the register of NZ medical practitioners in 1977, he then relocated his cancer treatment practice to the Cook Islands. One of his most high profile proponents in the 1970s was the then Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who invited him to set up practice in Australia. Brych relocated to the USA, and in 1980 was convicted of practising medicine without a license. After serving part of his six-year sentence, he was deported.
Milan Brych (pronounced "brick") was born Vlastimil Brych on 11 December 1939 in Czechoslovakia. [1] After the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, he fled to Italy, then as a refugee arrived in New Zealand. [2] Brych claimed to have studied Medicine at the University of Brno. It was later revealed that at the time he claimed to have been studying, he was in fact in prison. [1]
After being accepted as a refugee, he obtained a position in radiotherapy at the Auckland General Hospital. In 1973 [1] the faculty initiated questioning of his qualifications and his claimed "miraculous success" in cancer treatment. Brych was removed from the New Zealand Medical Register in 1974. [1]
Brych left New Zealand after his appeal against his disbarment failed and moved his practice to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands in March 1977. [1] [3] His practice was supported by the Cook Islands' Health Minister Joe Williams, who arranged for medical supplies to be sent to him. [3] In May 1977 one of his patients died while returning to New Zealand. [4] In the leadup to the 1978 Cook Islands general election then-opposition leader Dr Tom Davis pledged that if elected he would not allow Brych to continue to practice. [5] When Davis was elected Prime Minister he immediately barred Brych from Rarotonga hospital. [6] His patients were sent home [7] and he was ordered not to return to the islands. [8]
A small cemetery, adjacent to the RSA (Returned Servicemen's Association) Cemetery in Rarotonga is reported as being nicknamed "the Brych-yard", as it contains the graves of many of Brych's patients. [9]
In 1978, then Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen asked Brych to set up practice in Queensland. [11] [12] [13] [14] In the time of his premiership, Bjelke-Petersen's wishes were usually implemented. [15] Then Deputy Premier Dr Llew Edwards, a general practitioner, strenuously opposed and ultimately defeated in Cabinet Bjelke-Petersen's invitation. [2] [16]
Brych relocated his practice to Los Angeles. In September 1980 he was arrested for conspiracy, fraud, and practising medicine without a licence. [17] He was released after no charges were laid, but re-arrested in December. [18] In June 1983 he was found guilty of 12 counts of malpractice and grand theft [19] and in July 1983 he was sentenced to six years imprisonment. [20] After serving three years of his sentence he was deported to New Zealand [21] and then disappeared from popular and media attention. [2]
According to a Television New Zealand documentary aired on 26 August 2012 [22] he was living in London. In 2015, The Cook Island News claimed he was living in Switzerland under a different name. [23]
The Cook Islands is a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 islands whose total land area is 240 square kilometres (93 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean.
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of 67.39 km2 (26.02 sq mi), and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands.
Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen was an Australian conservative politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during which time the state underwent considerable economic development. He has become one of the most well-known and controversial figures of 20th-century Australian politics because of his uncompromising conservatism, political longevity, and the institutional corruption that became synonymous with his later leadership.
The Joh for Canberra campaign, initially known as the Joh for PM campaign, was an attempt by Queensland National Party premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen to become Prime Minister of Australia. The campaign was announced in January 1987 and drew substantial support from Queensland businessmen and some conservative politicians. The campaign caused a split in the federal Coalition. It did not attract widespread support and collapsed in June 1987. The Australian Labor Party, led by Bob Hawke, went on to win by an increased majority in the 1987 federal election, gaining its highest-ever number of seats. Bjelke-Petersen came under increasing scrutiny as the Fitzgerald Inquiry gained traction, and was forced out of politics altogether in December 1987.
Michael John Ahern is a former Queensland National Party politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1987 to September 1989. After a long career in the government of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Ahern became his successor amid the controversy caused by the Fitzgerald Inquiry into official corruption. Ahern's consensus style and political moderation contrasted strongly with Bjelke-Petersen's leadership, but he could not escape the division and strife caused by his predecessor's downfall.
Florence Isabel Bjelke-Petersen was an Australian politician and writer. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1981 to 1993, and was the wife of the longest-serving Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. She was styled as Lady Bjelke-Petersen upon her husband's knighthood, and was also known informally as Lady Flo.
Sir Walter Benjamin Campbell, was an Australian judge, administrator and governor. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Chancellor of the University of Queensland, and the 21st Governor of Queensland from 1985 to 1992.
Rarotonga International Airport is the Cook Islands' main international gateway, located in the town and district of Avarua, Rarotonga, 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the downtown area on the northern coast. Originally built in 1944, the airport was expanded in the early 1970's, and officially opened for jets in January 1974.
Joseph Williams was a Cook Islands politician and physician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands for four months in 1999. He is credited with having worked to prevent the spread of the tropical disease lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis). He principally resided in Auckland, New Zealand, where he was medical director of the Mt Wellington Integrated Family Health Centre.
Sir Thomas Robert Alexander Harries Davis was a Cook Islands statesman and medical researcher. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 1978 to March 1983, and again from November 1983 to July 1987. He also worked as a medical officer, and as a medical researcher for the US Army and NASA. He was a founder of the Cook Islands Voyaging Society and constructed and voyaged in several replica vaka, including Tākitumu and Te Au o Tonga.
The following lists events that happened during 1987 in Australia.
The 1987 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 11 July 1987, following the granting of a double dissolution on 5 June by the Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen. Consequently, all 148 seats in the House of Representatives as well as all 76 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke, defeated the opposition Liberal Party of Australia, led by John Howard and the National Party of Australia led by Ian Sinclair. This was the first, and to date only, time the Labor Party won a third consecutive election.
Albert Royle Henry was the first Premier of the Cook Islands the founder and first leader of the Cook Islands Party (CIP). First elected Premier in August 1965, he was unseated in the aftermath of the 1978 election after an electoral petition found he had committed electoral fraud. He was later stripped of his knighthood.
William Angus Manson Gunn AM was an Australian politician who represented the Queensland Legislative Assembly seat of Somerset from 1972 until 1992. A member of the National Party, he also served as a Minister and Deputy Premier in various Queensland administrations during the 1980s, and was instrumental in establishing the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
Ian Milne Dixon Cameron is an Australian politician. He was a National Country Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the electorate of Maranoa.
Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE was a Cook Island politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989.
Sir Leslie Charles Thiess CBE was a construction and mining industries entrepreneur, based in Queensland, Australia. He was one of the founders of Thiess Bros, later known as Thiess Pty Ltd.
Sir Sydney Schubert was an Australian public servant best known for the work he did in Queensland during the 1970s and 1980s as Co-ordinator General of the Premier's Department, and for his positions as chancellor of Bond University and chief executive of Daikyo Australia.
The Overseas seat was a Cook Islands electoral division returning one member to the Cook Islands Parliament. It was abolished in 2003.
Fanaura Kimiora Kingstone is a Cook Islands former politician and Cabinet Minister. In 1983 she became the second woman elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands, and the first appointed to Cabinet.