BD12,000 medicine theft: seven gets BD500 fine each

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Seven Health Ministry employees were slapped with fines of BD500 each for serious negligence in performing duties leading to a loss of BD12,000.

The failure of employees in performing their duties resulted in the loss of more than 170,000 narcotic tablets from the ministry drug stores, said the Minor Criminal Court in its verdict.

The Public Prosecution said it is studying the ruling to file an appeal to increase the penalty.

Head of the Financial Crimes and Money Laundering Prosecution Office, Advocate General Chancellor Nayef Youssef Mahmood, said the tablets thus lost were worth over 12 thousand Bahraini dinars.

Incidents leading to the case occurred with the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security in the Interior Ministry reporting a loss of large quantities of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and controlled medicines.

“Tablets went missing from the central stores of the Health Ministry, the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) stores, and the outpatient pharmacy of SMC,” the statement said.

Investigators told the court that suspects failed to conduct proper monitoring of the stocks or follow-up. “Inadequacy of the pharmacist system used to dispense these medicines” is also blamed for the loss.

The system, investigators found, lacked effective control measures, and failed to specify the scope of responsibility and the distribution of tasks in both the stores and SMC pharmacy.

“The Public Prosecution launched a probe and discussed the matter with the conductor of the investigations in the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security.

A specialised technical committee was also assigned to examine the works of the accused and inventory the stores,” Mahmood said.

The committee found that 171,453 tablets worth around BD12,000 were missing from the shelves, mainly because of the negligence.

The prosecution questioned the defendants and confronted them with the evidence.