Medical certificate fraud case: 4 doctors prosecuted, 18 more suspects discovered

The Dak Lak Provincial Police Department has just sent a document requesting the Department of Health and the Central Highlands General Hospital to coordinate in providing all documents to serve the investigation of the case of cheating in exams and granting medical practice certificates.

On May 17, a source from Tuoi Tre Online reported that the Dak Lak Provincial Police Investigation Agency had initiated a case and prosecuted the defendants for bribery, bribery, and bribery brokerage, related to the case of falsifying documents to issue medical practice certificates.

The doctors prosecuted for bribery include: Le Anh Tai (47 years old, from Thua Thien Hue), Hua Chi Cuong (44 years old, Ho Chi Minh City), Huynh Van Binh (55 years old, Lam Dong) and Huynh Thanh Giau (49 years old, Dong Thap). All four have a general practitioner degree but did not practice for the required amount of time at the Central Highlands General Hospital.

Also prosecuted in the case are Le Thi Anh Hong (49 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City), accused of acting as a broker, and Phan Van Anh (36 years old), former officer of the administrative police team of Buon Don District Police (Dak Lak), prosecuted for accepting bribes.

Expanding the investigation of the case, the Provincial Police Investigation Agency continued to discover 18 more cases of doctors and medical staff with signs of violations related to illegal household registration. Specifically, the initial verification results showed that 18 individuals who were doctors and medical staff were asked by Ms. Le Thi Anh Hong to carry out "false" household registration procedures in a number of households in Buon Don District (Dak Lak). This illegal importation may have been aimed at legalizing the application for a local practice certificate.

To clarify the related violations, the Investigation Police Agency requested the Department of Health to review all records of the above individuals, to determine who has been granted a practice certificate or has submitted an application for one. For cases with records, the Department of Health is requested to provide certified copies of relevant documents to serve the investigation before May 20, 2025 to ensure the progress of the investigation and handling in accordance with legal regulations.

During the investigation, the Police Investigation Agency determined that around 2018, Le Thi Anh Hong worked at Dr. Trung Clinic (address: 37 Nguyen Cong Tru, Tu An Ward, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province). This is a medical facility directed by Mr. Bui Binh Trung - Hong's ex-husband.

During her time working here, Hong talked with a person named Nhu Y (identity and background unknown), suggesting: if anyone needs a medical practice certificate, please introduce them to Hong to receive a commission.

After that, Nhu Y posted information on her personal Facebook account with the content: "Support for issuing medical practice certificates" to find people in need. Many people, not knowing the process of issuing certificates, contacted Nhu Y for support. Cases including Huynh Thanh Giau, Huynh Van Binh, Hua Chi Cuong were introduced by Nhu Y and given Le Thi Anh Hong's phone number to contact.

Le Anh Tai (residing in Ho Chi Minh City) also proactively sought out Hong through an acquaintance's introduction, hoping to receive support in obtaining a practice certificate.

Around February 2018, Hong contacted Mr. Phan Van Anh - an officer of the Social Order Administrative Management Police Team of Buon Don District Police - to ask him to help with illegal import procedures for the four doctors mentioned above into the district.

After completing the import, Hong continued to ask someone to contact the Central Highlands General Hospital to request a Certificate of Practice for these doctors. When all the documents were ready, Hong directly submitted the applications of Mr. Binh, Tai, Giau and Cuong to the one-stop department of the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health, requesting a certificate of practice for medical examination and treatment.

As of 2019, the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health has granted medical practice certificates to four doctors, including Huynh Van Binh, Hua Chi Cuong, Le Anh Tai and Huynh Thanh Giau, based on submitted documents and meeting current regulations.