A former section chief was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes in a bribery case involving a contract to outsource medical office work ordered by a hospital in Chiba Prefecture. An interview with the hospital revealed that there was a suspicion that the contract was ordered, and the police are investigating the details.

Tadayuki Kume (46), the former manager of the general affairs section of the Higashi Chiba Medical Center in Togane City, which is operated by a local independent administrative agency, is suspected of being involved in multiple consignment contracts for medical affairs from 2019 to 2020. On the 7th, he was arrested on suspicion of accepting a bribe, and was sent to the public prosecutor's office on the 8th for receiving a total of 27 million yen in cash in return for providing convenience to a medical office company in Tokyo.



In response to this, the hospital held a press conference on the 8th and clarified the details.



According to this, all outsourcing in question was outsourced to the company on the bribery side under a negotiated contract without a formal contract being drawn up.



In addition, such transactions began the month after the arrested former section chief was appointed as general affairs section chief from the outside through the introduction of the director of the hospital at the time. , there were transactions where the actual status of the business could not be confirmed.



The hospital said that the total outsourcing expenses to the bribery company over four years amounted to more than 1.2 billion yen, and about 300 million yen was unjustified expenditure.



According to the police, the former section chief is believed to have had a relationship with the president when he was working at another hospital in Chiba Prefecture, and the police will proceed to clarify the actual situation of adhesion.



Police have not disclosed the identity of the two men, citing an obstacle to the investigation.

Chairman Kono apologizes for ``inadequacy of governance system''

Following the arrest of the former chief engineer of the hospital, the "Higashi Chiba Medical Center" held a press conference on the 8th, and the chief director of the hospital apologized.



In this, Yoichi Kono, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, "It is truly regrettable that the trust of the hospital has been significantly lost, and I deeply apologize. I will cooperate with the investigation and strive to clarify."



In April 2018, the arrested former section chief was introduced by the former director and was hired as the general affairs section chief in April 2018. After that, he held multiple positions such as the finance section chief, and gained a strong influence within the hospital. It means that



Regarding this, Chairman Kono said, ``It is impossible for the general affairs manager to have such great authority. said.



After that, he reiterated his intention to work on rebuilding the organization to restore trust.

Severe voices from locals

A series of corruption cases at the Higashi-Chiba Medical Center, which plays a role in supporting local medical care as a core hospital, has been severely criticized by the local community.



Among them, a 57-year-old man said, "I was surprised again. I think the hospital has lost its credibility. I want the organization to be rebuilt with thorough legal compliance."



In addition, a 93-year-old woman said, "I was hospitalized in January this year and it is an indispensable hospital for the local area. I want you to do well."



A 69-year-old man said, "I think there is a problem with the hospital's management system that the scandals continue. We should strengthen the checking function within the organization, and I want the hospital to become a hospital where citizens can receive treatment with peace of mind." I was.