The first confession from an ambulance driver in the Newborn Gang: I admit that I made money by directing patients.

The trial of the newborn gang at the Bakırköy 22nd Heavy Penal Court continues on the 5th day. So far, a total of 18 defendants have made their defenses in the hearing. There are 29 defendants whose turn to defend has not yet come.

"I ADMIT THAT I MADE MONEY"

In the hearing where 47 defendants, 22 of whom are detained, are making their defenses one by one and being cross-examined, Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, one of the leaders of the organization and a 112 ambulance driver, confessed that he made money by directing patients. Özdemir, known as the person who directs patients to the hospitals organized by the gang, said, "I do not accept the accusations, but I admit that I made money by directing patients. I want to clarify a fact here: There are only 4 incubator ambulances in Istanbul. It takes at least 2 hours for these ambulances to reach a patient. Therefore, it takes an average of 5-6 hours to transfer a patient in need of intensive care from the medical center."

"THE CHAIN IS BROKEN THROUGH PEOPLE LIKE US"

Expressing that the transfer chain is broken through them, Özdemir stated, "A patient must go to the hospital as soon as possible, but the current rules do not allow this process to be expedited. Therefore, the transfer chain is broken through people like us, and a hospital is found. We talk to doctors and use the ambulances of private hospitals and obtain a protocol from the 112 Emergency Call Center. Thus, the transfer process, which takes 5-6 hours, can be resolved in 45 minutes. Is this a more suitable solution for patient care? I leave it to the court's discretion. I would also like to point out that in hospitals without an intensive care unit, it takes 30 minutes to report the situation to 112. In public hospitals, finding a suitable hospital takes much longer. Therefore, hospitals contact us. We find a suitable hospital for the patient within 45 minutes. In the European side of Istanbul, there are only 4 incubator ambulances to transport babies. In contrast, every hospital with neonatal units in private hospitals has incubator ambulances," he said.

LICENSES OF 9 PRIVATE HOSPITALS REVOKED

The gang, which transferred newborn babies by showing their condition as more severe than it is, caused the death of a total of 10 babies according to the indictment. Again, according to the indictment, the gang collected high fees from SGK using this method and charged more money from the relatives of the patients. In this context, the licenses of the healthcare workers involved in the crime and the 9 private hospitals they worked for were revoked. The hospitals whose licenses were revoked are as follows: Özel Avcılar Hospital, Özel TRG Hospitalist Hospital, Özel Birinci Hospital, Özel Güney Hospital, Özel Bağcılar Medilife Hospital, Özel Beylikdüzü Medilife Hospital, Özel Reyap Istanbul Hospital, Özel Şafak Hospital Bağcılar, and Özel Silivri Kolan Hospital.

HOW MUCH PRISON TIME IS SOUGHT?

For Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen, a total of 177 years to 582 years in prison is requested for the crimes of "manslaughter by negligence," "qualified fraud," and "establishing an organization to commit a crime" 10 times, and "forgery in official documents" 11 times.

For Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, a prison sentence of 180 years to 589 years is sought for the crimes of "manslaughter by negligence," "unlawful acquisition of personal data," "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations," "establishing an organization to commit a crime," and "forgery in official documents."