Well-known heart surgeon Mirosław G. is guilty of accepting at least 22,000 zlotys in bribes from patients and their families between March 2005 and December 2006 - the Regional Court for Warsaw said on Wednesday. The doctor was given a one year in prison sentence suspended for two years and 50,000-zloty fine.
According to the court, the senctence is severe enough. "The court had no doubt that the money from the patients were accepted as a payoff, hence the penalty of a fine was served," judge Iwona Hulko stressed in the sentence justification.
Referring to the fine, the judge also said that "a financial punishment is crucial because that was the nature of the crime committed by the accused".
The judge explained that the more severe punishment proposed by the prosecutor could not have been served as there wasn't enough evidence to prove that the doctor had conditioned the treatment of patients on receiving the payoff.
When referring to to the served sentence, judge Hulko underscored that Mirosław G.'s "achievements in medicine field and the fact of saving many lives were taken into account as extenuating circumstances". She added, however, that "by taking advantage of his knowledge and position, G. was making financial gains and so the social harmfulness of the act was high".
Wednesday's sentence ended the trial that had begun in September 2016 before the Regional Court for Warsaw-Mokotów.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvnwarszawa.pl