The trial of a disbarred and retired medical doctor in French Polynesia has been deferred for a fifth time.
Jean-Paul Theron is facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting and abusing a bailiff outside his home in September while he was being given a summons from medical authorities.
The defence called for the trial to be put off to a later date in order to get a new medical opinion about the severity of the victim's injuries.
Jean-Paul Theron Photo: Supplied
In May, the trial was postponed because Dr Theron was running for a seat in the French National Assembly.
In March, an attempt to try him was abandoned because no doctor was at hand to decide whether Dr Theron was fit to take the stand.
At the beginning of the year, Dr Theron was barred from the profession for three years for several breaches, including practising medicine without a permanent practice.
At the height of the pandemic last year, the retired physician attracted attention for prescribing Ivermectin, which is used as a treatment for parasites, to dozens of Covid-19 sufferers in his care.
Dr Theron told local television that the medical body should be dissolved, and the government be sanctioned for its poor management of the pandemic.
Last year, there were several large demonstrations in Tahiti against the government's vaccination policies and in support of Dr Theron.
French Polynesia, which was the first Pacific tourist destination to reopen its borders during the pandemic, has recorded 650 Covid-related fatalities.
