A doctor at the Cancer Institute in Chisinau has been arrested on suspicion of taking a €2,000 bribe, the National Anti-corruption Center (CNA) said in a press release.

According to the investigation, the doctor solicited the bribe to admit an incurable patient to hospital. He was caught in the act of receiving the money. The CNA said the Institute’s management cooperated.

The Institute’s spokesperson, Rodica Tomașenco, declined to comment on the “rather unpleasant case” before the CNA releases further information.

The suspect now faces up to 10 years in prison and a ban from public offices for up to 15 years.

A similar bribery incident at the Cancer Institute was reported in August 2020. Tomașenco says the suspect was fired from the Institute, but as far as she is concerned the doctor now practices at a private clinic.