The newborn case continues on its 9th day: 'The hospital management requested the transfer of the baby for 10,000 lira.'

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The trial of the Newborn Gang case, which provided unjust profits by transferring babies to hospitals they had agreements with and caused their deaths through negligent behavior, continues on the 9th day.

The hearing held in the conference hall of the courthouse by the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court was attended by 22 detained defendants, including Fırat Sarı, who is alleged to be the leader of an organized crime group, as well as some defendants who are not in custody and the lawyers of the parties.

HOSPITAL DIRECTOR SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME

During the hearing, Mustafa Kazan, the director of Özel Şafak Hospital, was heard for the first time. In his defense, Kazan stated, "I am being tried for willingly aiding the organization and defrauding public institutions and organizations," and added, "Firstly, I do not accept the existence of such an organization; I only learned about it when I was detained. I have no phone conversations with anyone, I do not even have phones. Apart from that, there is no evidence of me receiving or giving money from the mentioned organization. I have never met with the names mentioned here. I neither received money nor gave money. I only spoke with Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir twice," he stated.

"THE HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT REQUESTED A BABY TRANSFER FOR 10 THOUSAND LIRA"

Continuing his defense, defendant Kazan said that the hospital management requested him to transfer a baby for 10 thousand lira. Kazan stated, "I last worked at Bağcılar Şafak Hospital, and I left of my own accord. I am a graduate of the chemistry department. The hospital management requested me to ask Mert Özdemir for a baby transfer in exchange for 10 thousand lira. During cross-examination, when the presiding judge said, 'In the tapes, you say, 'The fee per baby is a thousand lira. You brought 30 babies, that's 30 thousand,' defendant Kazan replied, 'I conveyed what the hospital management said for Özdemir. Mert did not accept it anyway. After I started working at Şafak Hospital, Semiha Yavuz came as the Chief Physician. I was receiving a fixed salary from the hospital.'

"I TRUSTED THE DOCTORS"

In response to the prosecutor's question, "Did you not think that if this baby dies, you would be responsible?" Kazan replied, "I have a child too. I trusted the doctors; I was at ease."

"MY TURKISH IS NOT GOOD, I WAS MISUNDERSTOOD"

Another name defending in court, the non-detained defendant Renginar Molla, stated that he was misunderstood because his Turkish was poor in the tapes. In response to the presiding judge's question, "Why are you trying to fill the neonatal intensive care unit and constantly taking in patients?" Molla replied, "There is a misunderstanding in the conversations; my Turkish is not good, so some situations may have been misunderstood." The presiding judge asked, "We all know and speak Turkish. Your Turkish may be weak, but why did you approve things you did not understand? Why did you not tell Hasan Basri, 'You are an assistant; why are you doing things that should be done by a doctor?'"

Defendant Molla responded, "I did my best. I have been working for years; I have never worked this way. I never looked around to see who I was working with."

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the 1399-page indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it is stated that the criminal organization led by defendant doctor Fırat Sarı is managed by defendant doctor İlker Gönen and 112 Emergency Call Center ambulance driver Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir.

The indictment notes that the main purpose of the criminal organization is to eliminate the 112 transfer system of the neonatal intensive care units they took over, ensure their occupancy, manipulate the patients' levels, and receive maximum payments from the Social Security Institution (SGK).

The indictment states that the condition of the sick babies was presented as more severe than it actually was, and their hospital stays were extended longer than necessary, resulting in high fees being collected from SGK and excessive amounts being charged to some patients' relatives.

Instead of transferring sick babies to hospitals that would provide appropriate health services, the suspects were reported to have admitted them to hospitals that appeared profitable for the organization, with most of the profits shared among the defendant members of the organization who are health workers.

The indictment states that the main purpose was not to improve the health status of the babies but to obtain the maximum financial gain.