From the China Compliance Digest (Issue No. 20: June 18, 2012):
Four-year-old Xie Junqiang of Gungshang County (Henan Province) died in an ambulance after the driver stopped the vehicle to solicit 1,200 yuan (US $188) from the child’s parents.
The toddler was being transferred from Guangshan County People’s Hospital to a city hospital. Haggling over the payment delayed the journey by about ten minutes.
The child was initially brought to the county hospital because he was running a fever, but doctors’ efforts to fix the problem with intravenous medication administered at a local health clinic seemed to make matters worse. After the boy began vomiting and complained of stomach pain, his parents brought him back to Guangshan County People’s Hospital, where doctors prescribed more IV medicine, which triggered further complications. After that, medical personnel authorized the boy’s transfer to a hospital they believed would be better equipped to handle his case.
The grieving family say the county hospital paid them 26,000 yuan (US $4,000) for “condolence and funeral expenses.” They also say local police threatened to arrest them if they continued to pursue the matter.
Contacted by journalists, various hospital personnel offered no comment, claiming not to know enough about the case.
Source: Zhongyuan News (中原网)
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