Nutritionist suspected of stealing food products from patients

A nutritionist of the Balti Psychiatric Hospital is suspected of stealing a tonne of vegetables from the hospital. According to the police, he intended to sell the vegetables at an agricultural market in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on February 18, Vitalie Briceag, division head at the Interior Ministry’s Frauds Division, said that the case became known after relatives of the patients informed the law enforcement bodies that the patients are fed inappropriately. The police entered the hospital’s territory at the moment when a minibus loaded with a tonne of vegetables, including beet, potatoes, onion and carrots, was going out. Upon a search, there were also found products to the value of about 10,000 lei hidden in auxiliary rooms. They were to be taken out of the hospital. The police do not exclude that products had been stolen from the hospital earlier as well. The doctor is being investigated. The police are examining the case to identify other persons involved in the illegality. The nutritionist faces a fine of 10 000 to 20 000 lei or two to six years’ imprisonment. He will be banned from holding certain posts for a period of up to five years.