Police in Dak Lak province have prosecuted and temporarily detained two department heads from the Central Highlands General Hospital for "abuse of position and power while performing official duties."

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Police read the arrest and prosecution orders to defendants Duc and Hoang. Photo: CTV

On September 22, the Investigation Police Department of Dak Lak Provincial Police initiated a criminal case, prosecuted the suspects, and detained two officials from the Central Highlands General Hospital under Clause 2, Article 356 of the Penal Code for abusing their authority during their official duties.

The two defendants are Nguyen Ngoc Hoang (born 1977), Head of the Department of Urology and Nephrology, and Bui Ngoc Duc (born 1974), Head of the Department of Surgery and Anesthesia - Resuscitation.

Initial investigations revealed that between March 28 - May 15, 2024, and May 28 - December 31, 2024, the hospital’s laser lithotripsy machine was broken and unusable.

Despite this, Hoang and Duc allegedly instructed their staff to perform endoscopic lithotripsy procedures improperly and falsely recorded 255 patient files as having undergone treatment using the laser machine.

Among these, 235 patients were insured by the Dak Lak Provincial Social Security, which reimbursed a total of 273,924,150 VND (approx. 11,300 USD). In addition, patients themselves co-paid over 33 million VND (approx. 1,360 USD).

For the remaining 20 uninsured cases, patients paid out of pocket more than 25 million VND (approx. 1,030 USD). Furthermore, the hospital also disbursed surgery and procedure allowances based on all 255 records, amounting to over 60 million VND (approx. 2,480 USD).

The fraudulent actions of Hoang and Duc resulted in losses to the health insurance fund exceeding 273 million VND (approx. 11,300 USD) and caused financial harm to patients totaling more than 58 million VND (approx. 2,400 USD).

This case has severely damaged the reputation of the Central Highlands General Hospital, compromised patients’ rights and health, and stirred strong public outrage.

The Dak Lak Provincial Police continue to expand their investigation into the matter.

Hai Duong