DIICOT seeks preventive arrest of Pașca family in illegal care homes case in Bihor
Anti-corruption prosecutors have challenged judges' decision to release members of a family accused of exploiting hundreds of vulnerable people in unauthorised care centres in the country's west.
DIICOT seeks preventive arrest of Pașca family in illegal care homes case in Bihor
The prosecutor's office specialising in serious crimes has contested the measure not to incarcerate five relatives from the same family, suspected of holding mentally ill adults captive in homes converted into unauthorised care centres. Magistrates at the appellate court of the Capital are examining the prosecutors' request on Thursday, according to G4Media.ro.
At the beginning of July, a team of investigators arrested six suspects. The head of the network, Viorel Pașca, ran a non-profit entity called the Dumbrava Association. Along with him were detained his wife Florica, three of their descendants – Abel Timotei, Viorel Emanuel and Daniel Sabin – and a woman who coordinated the branches, Delia Mioara Păcală.
The following day, a panel at the Bucharest court rejected the arrest request and imposed only judicial supervision. Both sides challenged the verdict – the defendants want to escape any procedural obligation, while the investigators want imprisonment.
The charges involve forming a criminal network, recruiting and exploiting defenceless individuals, and aiding these acts. Hundreds of ill people were transferred from hospitals and social protection institutions in various regions and taken to homes in the villages of Holod, Ceica, Tinca and Lăzăreni. The transfers were carried out under the guise of medical care and social support services.
According to the case file, the organiser did not have the competencies and permits required by law for such activities. Those admitted suffered from mental illnesses, were defenceless and unable to express their consent.
Judge Andrada Albescu, who opted for judicial control, explained in her reasoning that, although the centres operated without permits, the hygienic and accommodation level was decent. She argued that, without these structures, beneficiaries would have ended up back on the streets. The document mentions that guests had adapted beds, furniture, bathrooms and televisions, received food, clothes, medication and consultations. The magistrate assessed that, despite problems relating to medication administration, the absence of trained staff and violation of specific standards, the situation did not compare to abandonment in inhumane conditions, which would mitigate social risk.
Regarding deaths, Andrada Albescu noted that the deceased were buried in the Greco-Catholic cemetery, with all formalities fulfilled, which, whilst not eliminating the suspicion that the defendants sought funeral allowances, demonstrated that they were not left unattended post-mortem.
Source: G4Media.ro
Source: G4Media