36/1/4/1/201100196

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 422
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 16 SEPTEMBER 2011

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 29- 2011)

Date reply submitted: 11 October 2011

422. Mrs B Abrahams (DA-Gauteng) to ask the Minister of Police:

Whether the Hawks have launched an investigation into allegations of medical malpractice with respect to "surgical innovations" as reported to them and exposed in a certain media report (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

CW521E

REPLY:

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation is conducting an investigation of fraud, forgery and uttering involving a close corporation, Surgical Innovations CC. It is alleged that employees of the firm had been re-labeling and distributing sterilized surgical equipment to hospitals fraudulently. Labels of equipment of which the expiry date had gone by, were removed, new labels with new expiry dates were fixed and the equipment was then delivered as new.

The matter is under investigation and a Senior State Advocate has already been appointed in the case.

Reply to question 422 approved by the Minister

Issued by Parliament, October 11 2011

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