Controversial issues before the appeal hearing of Hoang Cong Luong case

On May 13, the People's Court of Hoa Binh province is scheduled to open an appeal hearing to consider the appeals of Hoang Cong Luong (former doctor of Hoa Binh General Hospital), Truong Quy Duong (former hospital director), Hoang Dinh Khieu (former deputy director of the hospital), Tran Van Thang (former head of the supplies department) and Do Anh Tuan (director of Thien Son Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company).

Previously, on May 10, the Ministry of Health sent an official dispatch to the People's Court and the People's Procuracy of Hoa Binh province. The Ministry of Health said that it would punish Dr. Luong for the crime ofInvoluntary manslaughteris inappropriate, does not have enough elements to constitute a crime. If the appeals court still determines this crime against Luong, it will be an "extremely dangerous and very bad precedent" and create insecurity for medical staff in the country.

The case caused much controversy and lasted for nearly a year when the first instance trial was postponed twice and the case was returned once for further investigation. On March 30, the People's Court of Hoa Binh City announced the first instance verdict for the 7 defendants. Luong was sentenced to 42 months in prison, Quoc to 54 months in prison for his crimes.Involuntary manslaughterThe remaining five people received 30-42 months in prison for the same crime.Lack of responsibility causes serious consequences.

From the time he was prosecuted until the time he was brought to trial, Hoang Cong Luong continuously claimed that he had fulfilled his responsibility as a "doctor to treat and save people and did not commit the crime as prosecuted".

The defendant's charges were changed three times, fromViolation of regulations on medical examination and treatmentluxuriousLack of responsibility causes serious consequencesand nowInvoluntary manslaughter.

In mid-2018, at the first trial, Luong appeared in court with two other defendants and had six free defense lawyers. Throughout the trial, Luong repeatedly asked to remain silent and gave the right to "exonerate" to the lawyers.

The representative of the People's Procuracy then proposed sentencing Luong to 30-36 months in prison but with a suspended sentence for the crime.Lack of responsibility causes serious consequencesHowever, after many days of debate, the panel of judges decided to return the case file for further investigation.

After 7 months of additional investigation, the first instance trial reopened in early 2019, the number of defendants increased to 7. 31 lawyers registered to defend the defendants, civil defendants, witnesses, victims... Luong has 10 lawyers to defend him for free.

At the trial, Luong maintained his right to remain silent and was the defendant who spoke the least. Luong insisted that he was only the treating doctor and was not responsible for the water source used for dialysis for the 9 patients who died.

When sentenced to 42 months in prison, Luong still maintained his innocence. Three months later, Luong changed his mind, not claiming his innocence but only appealing for a lighter sentence.

In the latest announcement before the appeal hearing, Luong refused the 9 lawyers who "exonerated" him at the first instance hearing in February and only invited one defense lawyer.

Who is responsible for the water source for dialysis?

According to the case file, on the morning of May 29, 2017, 18 patients undergoing dialysis treatment at the artificial kidney unit of Hoa Binh General Hospital simultaneously showed symptoms of vomiting, itching, and dizziness. Nine people later died one after another, causing the biggest medical incident in Hoa Binh.

The cause was determined to be due to the RO2 water source provided for filtration and hemodialysis not being guaranteed. The equipment was put into operation after maintenance without proper inspection.

This issue has been fiercely "dissected" in many trials, but there is still no satisfactory answer to the question: Who is responsible for the water source for dialysis?

Luong said that according to hospital regulations, water quality belongs to the head of the department. But the department does not have an engineer, so the responsibility belongs to the engineer of the Medical Technical Supplies Department.

Denying right in court, defendant Tran Van Son (former officer of the Supplies Department) said that he was only assigned the task of managing and supervising the repair of medical equipment; he was not taught or assigned the task of managing the water quality of the RO water filtration system.

Contrary to the case file, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Hoa Binh city affirmed that Luong was not responsible for the water source. However, before ordering the patient to undergo dialysis, Luong knew that the water source was being tampered with without checking, so this "was a dangerous act" that led to the incident that killed 9 people. Luong's actions had enough elements to constitute a crime.Involuntary manslaughter.

The People's Court of Hoa Binh held that Luong was a licensed physician and had been trained in artificial kidney technology. The defendant was not responsible for the water source but was required to know the importance of water in dialysis. Luong knew about the repair of RO system No. 2, but before knowing whether the water system was safe or not, he only heard the nurse inform him that Luong had put the system into dialysis. The panel of judges concluded that Luong was "careless, worked out of habit and was confident in his own experience."