Doctors and relative fined in Miskolc bribery case
Two doctors and a woman received non-final fines after money changed hands to expedite knee surgery at the county seat of Borsod.
Doctors and relative fined in Miskolc bribery case
The Miskolc Court of Law has imposed non-final fines on two healthcare workers and a relative following complications surrounding an intervention at a Borsod hospital – reported the MTI via 24.hu.
The incident occurred in spring 2022. A woman made contact with a senior doctor at the county institution to have her mother's knee prosthesis implanted as soon as possible. The senior doctor arranged a meeting with the head of department who ultimately performed the surgical procedure. Before the operation, the woman handed over cash to both parties, and following the surgery, she sent a further sum to the operating surgeon via a taxi driver as intermediary.
The court found that the surgeon accepted 300,000 forints in prohibited benefits and the intermediary doctor accepted 200,000 forints. The woman who paid the money was hit with a 2 million forint fine. Her mother and the taxi driver who acted as intermediary were each given a one-year suspended sentence. The two doctors were ordered to repay the sums they had received.
The court found the surgeon guilty of accepting continuous bribery and the other doctor guilty of accepting a single instance of bribery. Both were fined 1.5 million forints each.
In the court's reasoning, it stated that it had taken into account the previously widespread envelope culture, the professional positions of those involved, and that this was an isolated incident. It added, however, that none of this provided exemption from the violation of the law.
Both the prosecutor and the majority of the defendants appealed, with the exception of the fourth perpetrator who was the patient who underwent the operation. The proceedings will continue before the Debrecen Court of Appeal.
Source: 24.hu