Former hospital director sentenced for taking bribes
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
01.04.2015 10:12
A district court in Łódź has handed a former head of one of the city's hospitals a three-year suspended sentence over a bribe.
Photo: Joe Gratz (Public Domain)
Bożena W. (full surname withheld due to Polish law) was given a two-year jail sentence suspended by three years for accepting a PLN 22,000 (EUR 5,400) bribe from US pharmaceutical firm, Stryker.
“The woman pleaded not guilty, but voluntarily surrendered to the penalty. The court also imposed a fine of PLN 22,000, while at the same time ordered to return the bribe,” said Tomasz Tadla, from the Katowice prosecutor's office.
Two other defendants, Bożena W.'s son, who was accused of money laundering, and the chief accountant of Stryker, plead not guilty. Their trial in Łódź has been slated for a later date, and could face up to eight years in prison.
Bożena W. is no longer a director at the Łódź hospital, but works there in an other capacity.
According to their website, Stryker is a “leader in the worldwide orthopaedic medical technology market”. It is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (rg)