National Oncology Institute (source: SME)
A group of people suspected of stealing oncology medication will receive less strict punishments after agreeing to a plea bargain, the Bratislava prosecutor’s office confirmed for the private broadcaster TV Markíza.
The case began in December 2015, when the management of the National Oncology Institute (NOÚ) and the police informed about it. The defendants include two former employees of NOÚ and two employees of pharmaceutical companies, the TASR newswire reported.
A police investigation found that seven people profited from selling the remnants of oncology medications that were supposed to be discarded. The pills were kept to be given to other patients.
“The unused pill was given to a pharmacist who returned it with a new package,” TV Markíza reported. “These were then sold.”
The accused people confessed shortly after the start of the investigation. They recently signed a plea bargain, which will result in punishments at the lower limit of the statutory rate. In one case, the penalty was even lowered below this rate, the broadcaster reported.
Part of the bargain is also an agreement on the forfeiture of possessions worth nearly €21,000 and financial sanctions amounting to €6,000.
The plea bargain will now have to be approved by the court. The date of the proceeding has not yet been set, TV Markíza reported.
