Daily Lessons from Life 19 December 2013 - Shanghai health official held, media cite GSK link

"Shanghai health official held, media cite GSK link - AFP 19 December 2013

SHANGHAI: A Shanghai health official has been arrested on suspicion of crime, local authorities said, with state media linking his downfall to the bribery scandal surrounding British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.

Huang Fengping, who was suspended earlier this month as deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Health and Family Planning, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly committing a crime, the Shanghai Municipal People's Prosecution Service said in a one-sentence statement.

It gave no further details, but state media have reported that Huang allegedly accepted bribes in his earlier positions at local hospitals and might be involved in the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) commercial bribery case.

"Huang Fengping has close relatives working at GlaxoSmithKline and some family members have migrated to Canada," an unnamed source told the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper earlier this month.

Chinese authorities said in July that GSK staff had bribed government officials, pharmaceutical industry groups, hospitals and doctors to help sales of their products and increase prices for drugs. State media quoted a public security bureau official as saying that GSK had transferred around 3 billion yuan ($490 million) to more than 700 travel agencies and consultancy firms since 2007.

Police have detained four top GSK executives as well as a British fraud investigator, Peter Humphrey, whose company has worked for GSK.

GSK says it is concerned about allegations of misconduct and is co-operating with the investigation.

The inquiry was launched at a time when China launched sweeping probes into alleged malpractice by foreign firms in various sectors, and against the backdrop of an anti-graft campaign backed by President Xi Jinping to root out corrupt officials from the party."

Another one bites the dusk? As my favourite British rock band, the Queens, would sing!

Lessons for me are:

1. the corrupt practice of 'greasing the hospital authorities, the doctors, the nurses and anyone who is nobody but happened to be working in the medical and hospital where patients want to be attended to faster or earlier' has been going on for years! NO ONE. NO ONE baited an eye lid when told about this. WHAT CHANGED when President Xi and his team came into power recently?;

2. simple. The situation has changed! President Xi realised that the people are getting fed up with corrupt officials, corrupt administrators, corrupt medical personnel, corrupt business people, etc, etc and are raging! The rage is so strong and so high that it may well bring the CCP down. Of course, it will be with a lot of bloodshed with the power that be hanging on by getting the army to suppress the uprising. Yet, that may not stop the rebellion! So, when the CCP is no more, there is no way anyone can benefit 'unfairly'. So, better to get rid of the seed of the discontent of the masses and the people in power can still have a say in how the power is to be 'controlled' and 'transitioned' if you like! It is about self-preservation. Like it or not, corruption, for now, has to go!;

3. what about the corrupted people in the system? Many of them have conscience. Many might say they did not want to be in this. They were 'victims' rather than the 'beneficiaries' of this corrupt system. If they are NOT in, they are OUT. It may be true. Yet, when the final analysis is concluded, they simply has to ask themselves: 'Did they NOT enjoy the perks and the 'extra' money?' How did they spend THOSE money? To a charitable cause or to buy another expensive meal/watch/car or property or on men/women/gambling/drinking? If it is NOT for a charitable cause, they probably WERE CORRUPTED willingly! :-)

May the prices of medicines be back to a reasonable level now!