Urologist sells patient's kidney stone to draft-eligible man for fake diagnosis – prosecutors
A urologist in Zakarpattia region received $400 from a draft-eligible man for a kidney stone removed from another patient, using it to create a fake diagnosis for mobilization deferment, the press service of the Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on Wednesday.
"The Berehove District Prosecutor’s Office has notified a urologist at a local hospital of suspicion for extorting money to process medical documents that served as the basis for obtaining a mobilization deferment," a report on the prosecutor’s website reads.
According to the investigation, the district hospital physician offered the man a way to avoid conscription on health grounds in exchange for a bribe. To make the deception look convincing, the urologist provided the man with a real stone previously removed from a female patient with a severe oncological pathology. The man was then expected to present this biomaterial during diagnostic procedures as his own to artificially confirm the diagnosis.
The physician initially requested a $100 advance for preparing the documents, followed by an additional $300 for the stone and the final processing of a medical history granting the right to a deferment.
The doctor is charged with receiving an improper benefit by an official combined with extortion (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The Berehove District Court granted the prosecution’s motion to take the suspect into custody but set bail at approximately UAH 266,000, which the prosecutor’s office intends to appeal as being too lenient.
The investigation is currently verifying the suspect’s involvement in other similar episodes.
