A heart surgeon and department chief at public hospital Evaggelismos in Athens, Greece was arrested for bribery and attempted extortion. The 59-year-old surgeon was arrested on Wednesday after a complaint from a patient who was hospitalized after he suffered a heart attack.
The doctors of the hospital decided that the patient required immediate open-heart surgery. However, said doctor threatened the patient that he would not operate on him unless he received 1,500 euros. After negotiations, the doctor agreed to an upfront payment of 500 euros. After notifying the police, a relative of the patient delivered the money in marked notes.
The doctor was arrested after he received the bribe. The police found in his belongings the marked notes amounting to 500 euros, 335 euros cash and handwritten notes with names of doctors and members of the hospital staff. The police will investigate these notes in order to identify other victims of the doctor.
The MP of New Democracy, Kostas Markopoulos revealed that the arrested surgeon is Antonis Tsoukas. In the past, Markopoulos had reported the illegal activities of the doctor to the administration of the hospital. Moreover, in May another heart patient complained that the doctor asked for a 2,000 euros bribe, but there was no sufficient evidence that would lead to his arrest.
The Internal Affairs Directorate of the Greek Police is responsible for the investigation, detection and prosecution of corruption cases, both in the Greek Police and the wider public sector in Greece.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
