Seven doctors jailed for accepting drug company commissions

by Michael Woodhead
Seven doctors from Baotou in Inner Mongolia have been found guilty and jailed for accepting sales commissions from pharmaceutical companies and other bribes.
The seven doctors are  heads of various medical departments at the Baotou No 6 Hospital and also include the chief physician for the hospital. They are accused of accepting commissions from pharmaceutical company representatives for amounts between 80,000 yuan and 710,000 yuan. The commissions were illegal and constituted bribes according to the law, the court heard.
Five of the doctors are also accused of accepting bribes for providing favourable medical and psychiatric reports in legal cases to help people get lighter sentences or avoid financial penalties in court cases.
The doctors were found guilty and sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from  18 months to seven and a half years, suspended for two years.
The doctors have appealed the severity of their sentences, disputing the amount of prescribing that was claimed in court.
A representative from Jiangsu Enhua pharmaceuticals was also tried for giving bribes of more than 240,000 yuan to doctors at the hospital in return for writing prescriptions. He was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined 10,000 yuan.