Dianthus Medical Group (禾馨醫療集團) chief executive officer Lin Tzu-hung (林思宏) was released on NT$5 million (US$181,002) bail yesterday, after he was questioned by prosecutors over an alleged medical insurance fraud that involved collusion with patients over services costing NT$30 million.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and the Criminal Investigation Bureau on Thursday searched five Dianthus clinics in Taipei and other cities, detaining 25 people for questioning.
Five doctors at Dianthus clinics were yesterday released on bail ranging from NT$1 million to NT$3 million after questioning by Taipei prosecutors.
Photo: CNA
Taipei-based Dianthus operates clinics specializing in pediatrics, maternal-fetal medicine, dentistry and ophthalmology, and focuses on municipal Taipei and Taoyuan.
Lin and Dianthus doctors are suspected of forging diagnoses on behalf of pregnant women that made them eligible for insurance payouts after giving birth by caesarean section, the prosecutors said.
The forged diagnoses cited developing complications and other medical conditions, they said.
Clinic personnel allegedly colluded with about 300 women to receive payouts totaling NT$30 million, mainly from three insurance firms, they said.
Lin and the five doctors released on bail would face fraud and forgery charges, they said.
Dianthus said in a statement that it would fully cooperate with the investigation.
After his release, Lin wrote on social media: “We are hustling in a busy world and might easily be stabbed with a knife.”
“Now that I was interrogated, it is the best for me to wait,” he wrote. “I am mentally strong, and I can deal with it. Thanks for everyone’s concern and support.”
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS