Siemens Bribery Probe Tied to Jilin Hospital
From page 9, The Economic Observer issue no. 332, September 10, 2007
By Liu Changjie
On September 6, our reporter was refused an interview and locked out of the glass door at the Changchun office of Siemens' Shenyang branch. Just nine days prior, Xiao Weiqun, public relations director of Siemens China, announced that the company's president and CEO Dr. Richard Hausmann would not receive interviews about the bribery cases any more.
An investigation last November that began at the firm's German headquarters has so far tied 420 million euros to bribery. Twenty Chinese employees have been fired in its wake.
But despite the company's silence over the scandal, clues are emerging from a case pending in Songyuan city of Jilin province.
A Model Worker is Arrested
June 19, Songyuan City-- the sunny Dragon Boat holiday could not have been going any better for Hou Yingshan. The director of Songyuan City Central Hospital was being recognized as a "Model Worker" at a city meeting, and the day before, he had represented the hospital in signing a major contract entrusting a Harbin company to purchase digital subtraction angiography systems made by Siemens. But moments after he removed the red flowers showered upon him during the ceremony, he was snatched away by local law enforcement, leaving behind a dumbfounded audience.
Everyone familiar with Hou was shocked. Hospital documents show that during his six years as director he had made significant contributions to its development, which were embodied by the construction of a new building with an area of 16.3 thousand square meters. His other accomplishments include winning over a batch of new skillful doctors and being closely involved in the purchasing of more than 100 new medical equipment systems. Since 2000, the hospital's income had doubled.
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- Audit Storm is a Paper Tiger | 2007-07-27
