There seems to be little sympathy for a convicted pedophile dealing with a life-threatening illness in a Nepal prison.

Fenwick MacIntosh, 72, is being treated for leukemia as he serves a seven-year sentence for molesting a 15-year-old boy in Kathmandu.

MacIntosh is appealing his conviction and a decision could come any day. Chief among the factors likely to be considered by the court is hisage and health.

The prison warden tells CTV News MacIntosh’s condition is stable, with regular monitoring and visits to hospital.

Bob Martin, once a victim of MacIntosh's and now an advocate against sexual abuse, says the Fenwick MacIntosh in a Nepalese prison sounds like the same man he knew in Canada.             

“MacIntosh is playing the system,” said Martin. “He's up to his bag of tricks. And he's conning the system over there like he conned me when I was a teenager."  

At this time, there are no agreements between Nepal and Canada allowing inmates to transfer back to their home country to finish off their sentences. A special request would have to be made at the highest level in government to get a prisoner transferred.

If that happened, a request would have to be made at the cabinet level in Ottawa. At the moment, that doesn’t seem likely.

Legal expert Robert Currie says foreign prisoners aren't going to receive preferential treatment merely because they're from another country.

"When a Canadian goes abroad and commits a crime, there's very little the Canadian government can do other than to make representations on behalf of that person if they're being mistreated somehow,” said the Dalhousie University law professor. “Otherwise they're entirely subject to the system of the country in which they landed.”

Martin believes MacIntosh may be using money and an unproven health diagnosis for sympathy and easier jail time.

"I guess if I was him, I'd want to be out at the hospital too,” said Martin. “I'd want to be out maybe teaching English in the library. So I'm sure anytime out of that incarcerated spot is good time for him."   

The last thing Martin wants to see is MacIntosh released early. He says, it's about justice, not revenge.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bill Dicks.