18.02.2025 11:10
The third hearing of the Newborn Gang case, in which individuals provided unfair profits by transferring babies to hospitals they had agreements with and caused the deaths of babies through negligent behavior, has begun. In the case where 46 defendants, including the gang leader and members, are being tried, the defendants' statements will be taken.
In Istanbul, the third hearing of the case against the administrators of the Newborn Gang, who are alleged to have transferred emergency infant patients to private hospitals' neonatal units with which they had pre-arranged agreements, resulting in deaths and unjust profits, began at the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court. Following the suicide of the organization leader İlker Gönen, who was in custody, the number of defendants increased to 46. It is anticipated that the defense statements of the defendants will continue to be taken during the hearing.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 47 defendants and 19 healthcare institutions are mentioned, while it is stated that 10 infants lost their lives. The indictment revealed that the main aim of the criminal organization led by Fırat Sarı, with İlker Gönen and Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir as its administrators, was to ensure the occupancy of the neonatal intensive care units they took over by circumventing the 112 transfer system, and to receive payments from SGK at the upper limit by manipulating the patients' stages.
It was also stated in the indictment that the gang committed document forgery by misrepresenting the current conditions of patients (such as representing intubated patients as non-intubated and vice versa, and billing for unused medications as if they were used) and billed SGK, showing the patients' actual conditions as more severe to prolong their hospital stays and collect higher fees from SGK, as well as obtaining financial gains through processes such as charging extra fees from some patients' relatives. It was noted that most of the suspects mentioned in the indictment are healthcare workers and that these workers also received a share of the profits. The indictment stated that instead of transferring infant patients to hospitals that would provide appropriate healthcare services due to the elimination of the 112 transfer system, the suspects admitted them to hospitals they deemed profitable on behalf of the organization, emphasizing that the goal was not to improve the health status of the infants but to maximize financial gain. It was recorded in the indictment that admitting infants to neonatal intensive care units, which are open to all kinds of infections, led to illnesses such as infections in some infants and even death in others. The suspects were also reported to have obtained financial gains by illegally selling medications such as currosurf and infasurf, which they removed from the hospital, and that due to the transfer of operations in violation of the Private Hospitals Regulation, the Newborn Criminal Organization led by Fırat Sarı attempted to provide services to many hospitals with a small number of doctors, resulting in healthcare being provided directly by nurses and even nurse assistants, which consequently increased the number of infant deaths.