Officers of the National Anticorruption Center arrested an ophthalmologist of the National Children’s Hospital “Emilian Cotaga” based in Chisinau on suspicion of passive corruption. According to the denouncer, the doctor had asked for €800 from her for operating her daughter on both of the eyes, IPN reports, quoting a communiqué from the Center.

According to the preliminary investigation, the child suffered from total congenital cataract and was directed by the family doctor to the hospital for being immediately operated. Despite the family doctor’s recommendations, the ophthalmologist asked from the patient’s mother for €400 for each of the eyes to be operated. When the man was caught, he voluntarily yielded €400 that he received from the denouncer.

The doctor was put under arrest for 72 hours. He faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to 60,000 lei for passive corruption.

In the first five months of this year, the National Anticorruption Center started 11 criminal cases over corruption in the health sector.