The director of the National Psychiatric Hospital 1, Vuong Van Tinh, has just been suspended while police are investigating a drug trading ring inside the hospital.
The National Psychiatric Hospital 1
The Ministry of Health on April 1 decided to suspend Tinh and two female staff from the hospital, doctor Do Thi Luu and nurse Ta Thi Them, who were found involved in the illegal drug trading run by a patient at the hospital.
The director of the hospital was ordered to collaborate with the police in the investigation, inspect the hospital's staff, tighten security and management.
On March 31, the police in Hanoi announced that they had busted a drug trading ring led by a man with a history of mental illness, Nguyen Xuan Quy.
Quy has been treated at the National Psychiatric Hospital 1 since November 2018. During his treatment, Quy left the hospital several times. In January, he was caught by the police in Hai Ba Trung District for illegally storing narcotics and was transferred to the hospital.
Quy then made friends with some staff at the hospital and was allowed to move freely inside the hospital. He was even able to turn a treatment room into a sound-proof room with heavy loudspeakers and laser lights. He later invited friends and some hospital staff to the room and sold all kinds of narcotics there.
His customers disguised themselves as patients' relatives. Two of his accomplices, Nguyen Trung Nguyen and Nguyen Cong Thuong disguised as taxi and motorbike taxi drivers in front of the hospital to guard and transport drugs.
The trading ring was busted and five people were arrested on March 20.
Nguyen Anh Vu (left) and Nguyen Xuan Quy
After expanding the investigation, the Hanoi police also detained Nguyen Anh Vu, 35, an employee at the Department of Rehabilitation and Traditional Medicine at the hospital. Vu has been prosecuted for failing to report a crime.
