For instance, if their child was almost dying, they would switch to another hospital and start to make a scene if the child died there.
Another scenario would be patients who discovered cancerous tumors during checkup and would jump off the roof while family members recorded it on tape for blackmail.
The hospital was like their personal bank to cash out whenever they wanted. They could not care less about the psychological trauma they brought upon the consulting doctors and the fact that some doctors gave up practicing medicine afterward.
It was obvious that the man was trying to leave a digital footprint by asking the doctor for a prescription.
If the pediatrician had not resisted or that Zheng Ren had not noticed, he would come back with the infant a few hours later to complain that his child had died from the prescribed medication.
Old Chief Physician Pan, Zheng Ren, and Su Yun were all aware of his motive.
The heartless bastard!
"They're hitting me! They killed my son and hit me! Come and take a look!" The man barked in the hallway.
Zheng Ren placed the infant on the bed and walked out of the consultation room with an ice-cold expression.
He then kicked the man in the face so hard that blood splattered out.
"Motherf*cker!"
Chapter 393 - Organized Crime Group
"Zheng Ren!" Old Chief Physician Pan yelled.
He was shocked by Zheng Ren's uncharacteristic outburst.
"Chief Pan, call the police!" Zheng Ren said calmly. He kicked the man to stop him from fighting back.
After that, Zheng Ren kicked the man again between his c.h.e.s.t and abdomen.
The fierce expression on his face disappeared as he choked and gasped for air, curling his body like a prawn as he seized up in pain.
Zheng Ren knew he was no longer a threat.
It was not because of him, but due to Fan Tianshui.
No matter how aggressive the man was, he was just a normal person and could not cause much damage.
"This..." Old Chief Physician Pan was stunned by Zheng Ren's overreaction.
"I suspect that the child is not his!" Zheng Ren gave the man on the floor a death stare.
Old Chief Physician Pan was startled after hearing what he said. Su Yun also quickly realized what was happening. Zheng Ren might be right!
The logic behind it was actually rather simple but no one noticed sooner because it had all happened so suddenly.
The man clutched the blanket around the infant so tightly, hiding it from others, and even resisted a body checkup when the doctor requested to do so. All these signs suggested that he knew the infant was dead.
When Zheng Ren forced the issue, he threw the infant toward Zheng Ren. His actions proved that the child was just a pawn in his scheme.
Su Yun immediately dialed 110 to report the incident to the police. He also informed the medical administration division to let Chief Zhou handle this.
There was a police department in Sea City General Hospital but it was for the sake of deterring crime by instilling fear amongst the local gangsters.
The medical administration division had to step in if there was a need to notify the police's upper management.
Chief Zhou was a little rusty as a doctor, thanks to the never-ending medical disputes he had to deal with over the years.
He was in charge of the toughest and dirtiest job in the hospital. Even the janitor from the general surgery department could not be compared with him.
To quote Chief Zhou directly, 'There's an active volcano under my a.s.s, and I don't know when it will erupt. Other people can run for their lives but not only can I not escape from it, I will also have to extinguish the flames.'
After picking up the phone, Chief Zhou sprung from his seat when he heard Su Yun explain the entire incident. "Bang!" His knee bumped against the arm of the chair but he failed to notice it in his shock.
This was an incident with malicious intent. However, he could not really assess how bad the situation was at the moment.
This was only the tip of an iceberg. Fortunately, they had managed to expose them, otherwise… Chief Zhou shuddered at the thought.
He called the police chief as he rushed over to the emergency department together with his assistant.
He met Old Chief Physician Pan in the hallway and asked a few questions about the incident.
When he saw livor mortis on the infant's body, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Thank goodness for these vigilant lads from the emergency department. Several years ago, something like this would seriously damage the hospital's reputation.
Back then, if they cooperated with professional medical dispute profiteers, there would be banners hanging in front of the hospital's main entrance. They would even bring children to throw tantrums and disrupt the hospital's entire operation.
Nowadays, an incident like this would go viral on WeChat and Weibo and spread like wildfire. No one could predict how far it would reach.
'Motherf*cker! How dare he extorts a dead child for money!'
Chief Zhou glared at the man on the floor. Fan Tianshui was standing beside them in a seemingly relaxed manner but was on high-alert to stop him from escaping at any moment.
As the hospital's security guard, Fan Tianshui did not have the right to arrest someone. In fact, he had broken a few rules by keeping the man there.
However, no one cared about that.
It might have been due to their empathy toward the child or their disgust for the middle-aged man. Regardless, no one paid attention to him overstepping a few rules.
The police arrived shortly after and closed off the scene. After that, they arrested the guy and took him away, restoring peace and quiet in the emergency department.
Zheng Ren was furious, but he suppressed his emotions and reacted calmly.
From his decision to expose the man until the attempt to stop him, Zheng Ren had an exceptionally firm stance, which was unlike his usual kind chief resident persona.
"Boss, you're the man." Su Yun dragged Zheng Ren and left through the side door. They stood beside the bin with an ashtray. He then took out a cigarette from Zheng Ren's pocket, lighted it, and passed it to him.
Zheng Ren remained silent and took a deep drag, feeling the burn of the tobacco in his lungs before puffing out thick, white smoke.
Su Yun patted Zheng Ren's shoulders to comfort him. He then lighted another cigarette and twirled the lighter between his fingers sensually. After a few puffs, he said, "Boss, these cigarettes make you look cheap."
"I'm used to it," Zheng Ren said.
"You have to change some of these old habits. You need to get used to better things. Let the past go."
"Uhm."
"How did you know?" Su Yun asked.
Zheng Ren shook his head without answering his question. Instead, he asked, "What do you think about this?"
"This was definitely not his first attempt," Su Yun said with the cigarette in his mouth, his black fringe swaying attractively.
"Let me ask around." Zheng Ren took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Brother Six, it's me.
"Uhm, I need a favor. There's a man who came to our hospital with a dead child trying to scam us. I don't think he's related to the child, so he might be a child trafficker.
"Yes, can you help me to find out about this? Thank you.
"Sure, I'll treat you to skewers the next time we meet."
Zheng Ren hung up after that.
"You're suspecting…" Su Yun asked.
"From the state of livor mortis on the child, the time of death should be around midnight," Zheng Ren said. "The way he carried the child around to ask for medication was suspiciously calm as if he had a clear goal. This means he's done this quite frequently and is not the only one behind this scheme."
"Wow, Boss. I didn't know you solve crimes," Su Yun teased him as usual.
"When I was in school, I worked as an assistant for my pathology teacher. My teacher was
also working part-time as the city's forensic pathologist. I was able to earn 100 yuan for each body I dissected. That amount was quite substantial to me as a student," Zheng Ren said.
Su Yun reminisced on his school days. "I invested in stocks when I studied."
"My main concern is that the man belongs to an organized crime group and there are more children involved," Zheng Ren said.
Su Yun tensed up instantly, a serious expression on his face.
"Why didn't you tell Chief Pan?"
"I think the police's intervention would suffice. They are all experienced officers so I'm sure they'll think of it too. Besides that, I can find out other things with Little Six's help."
Both of them stopped talking.
They finished their cigarette and extinguished the buds before turning around to leave.
In that moment, Zheng Ren's phone rang.
"Hi, Brother Six.
"Uhm, hm. Okay, sure.
"Thank you."
Right after Zheng Ren hung up, Su Yun asked, "What did he find?"
"Those despicable medical dispute profiteers," Zheng Ren said. "The one who came here today came from another city. The ones from Sea City still dare not come here."
"Another city?"
"Uhm, they took the child to the Women and Children hospital and scammed them for 20,000 yuan," Zheng Ren said.
Zheng Ren stared at the cloudy sky as he spoke. He then paused for a few seconds before saying, "The child was still alive. Little Six verified with the doctors from the Women and Children Hospital."
"Was he planning to come here for one last job and disappear after making a big one?"
"Hmm, Little Six said that the local medical dispute profiteers received a job offer but they didn't take it."
"These guys…" Su Yun let out a sigh.
"Uhm, let's report this to Chief Pan. It's beyond our reach now." Zheng Ren's expression gradually calmed down.
"Let's go and visit Yang Lili."
"Yang Lili's fine. I think she'll be transferred out of the ICU after one or two days," Su Yun said. "The ICU's not the safest place these days. The influenza is getting worse. Many old folks get transferred into the ICU with heart and lung failure due to influenza."
"Even the South is snowing this time of the year."
"Oh, Chief Sun was looking for you before this. He wanted you to observe a peritoneal loose body resection today."
"What's there to observe?"
"Right? I said the same thing. I already rejected him on your behalf. But boss, I still think that Chief Sun gave in too quickly and there's something unsatisfying about that."
"Only you find p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e from somebody like Chief Sun," Zheng Ren rebutted immediately as he was not in a good mood.
…
…
Author's note: My classmate from the South told me about this case. This group of people bought an infant with a congenital heart defect. They only attack once in a city. They won't make a huge scene and only demand money. It's revolting...
Chapter 394 - Transition Strategy Of Medical Dispute Profiteer
The municipal police dismantled the organized crime group who kidnapped babies to scam hospitals in record time.
The entire process took less than 24 hours.
One night, a group of people gathered in a deserted house near the city's outskirts to eat and drink.
One of them was a medical dispute profiteer who heckled at Sea City General Hospital before. His name was Goldteeth.
He cracked open a bottle of Qingdao beer with his teeth and chugged half the bottle, beer foam streaming down the corners of his mouth.
"Tsk… Ahh…" He made a sound of satisfaction.
"Brother, thank goodness you stopped us," a simple-looking man beside him said.
"Of course, you guys get tempted too easily. You're just digging your own graves." Goldteeth was a sucker for flattery. "Let me tell you guys, stay away from Sea City General Hospital. Or else, you guys will definitely be arrested. Do you want that?"
"But Sea City General Hospital has the most opportunities. We lose half the jobs without it," another shifty-eyed guy said in frustration. "It's all my fault. When I heard the amount they were offering with an upfront of 10,000 yuan, I just…"
"I told you guys before that Brother Six warned us not to go there anymore. Not only will you get beaten up, but he would also've broken my leg too." Goldteeth then grinned and said, "If you're not street smart, you'll be dead in no time. Those guys got buried alive in Sea City General Hospital."
"Brother, it's a little weird. They came all the way from the South, conned so many hospitals, and got away with it. Why did they get caught in Sea City General Hospital?"
"I've asked around. You guys will be shocked by the truth." Goldteeth downed the last mouthful of beer, his face glimmering with an oily sheen.
His few followers hovered over and started buttering him up, except for the simple-looking man who just laughed and waited for Goldteeth to reveal what had happened.
"Do you guys know who is Old Chief Physician Pan from Sea City General Hospital's emergency department?" Goldteeth asked suspensefully.
"Isn't he an old military doctor? I knew that a few years back, all the advertis.e.m.e.nts on utility poles were about an old military doctor's branded medications. Is he somebody?"
"A few years back, hehe." Goldteeth opened another bottle of beer and spat the bottle cap to the side. "Let me put it this way, if we were to make a scene in Sea City General Hospital a decade ago, Old Chief Physician Pan could call over a truck of soldiers and beat the hell out of us." [1]
All of them were dumbfounded. They had no idea of the risks involved by pulling a stunt like that in Sea City General Hospital. However, they never experienced any radical actions taken by that old chief.
The last time they were there, they only had to take turns holding up a flag until the young masters were satisfied.
"We're lucky that's all in the past," Goldteeth said as he let out a sigh. "It'll get tougher in the future, so we need to find another way to earn money."
"I see that they're doing quite well," one of them said. "Brother, they get a few hundred thousand for each job. That's much more than what we ask for. I'm thinking…"
"Slap!" Goldteeth hit the back of the man's head, almost knocking him down to the table.
"A*shole, how can we do such an evil deed? Are you blinded by money?" Goldteeth was about to hit him again but the others stopped him.
"Not many people dare to kidnap or buy sick children and use them as pawns to blackmail hospitals," Goldteeth said emotionally. He pointed at the young man and said, "Do you wish to have a deformed son next time? Our job is to help people voice out their injustice! What those people did was immoral and wicked!"
Goldteeth berated him for several minutes.
He was aware that it was not convincing for him to claim the moral high ground.
However, their schemes paled in comparison to those organized crime groups who blackmailed and scammed their way across the country.
These guys had the audacity to buy children with birth defects from villagers at a minimal price and bring them to scam hospitals in big cities.
Nowadays, the reputation of hospitals was already depicted in a bad light.
Wherever they went, they would conspire with the local medical dispute profiteers to exaggerate the situation and gain attention.
They could not care less even if the child had died.
Moreover, a dead child was worth more to them since they could ask for more money.
They rarely stayed in one place. They would carry out their scheme once or twice and leave for the next location.
They would also contain the situation so that it would not attract too much public attention. If the hospital was willing to pay, they would settle peacefully.
It was no good for them if the incident blew up as they had to pull the same stunt across the country.
Their trick would fail
if other hospitals were aware of them.
This was a great deal, just that it was too f*cking evil.
In this circle, only a handful of people were willing to do it. They were either sadistic punks or just desperate for money.
No wonder Goldteeth's followers were tempted by the fast cash.
They never expected to get caught in such a deserted place like Sea City.
Goldteeth pointed to the young man with his chopsticks and said, "I pulled a few strings with a security company and found us a job in a hospital at Provincial Capital."
"Brother, what's so nice about being a security guard?" One of his followers said unhappily. "How's the pay?"
"There's no salary. Brother Six said we don't have to come up with a single cent."
All of them were speechless.
Why should they work if there was no salary? From what Goldteeth told them, it seemed like they even had to pay to secure the job.
What on earth was he thinking!
"Idiots!" Goldteeth exclaimed. "Stop thinking that Sea City is the entire world. It's such a small place that everyone knows each other. People can always get referred to a doctor when they're sick. However, in a bigger city like Provincial Capital, we can sell a couple of hundred for a ticket in the specialist outpatient department."
Those young men's eyes lit up.
"Brother, you meant we're going to sell specialist appointments?"
"If we get to make a few acquaintances, we can always claim that we're bringing our family members from our hometown for an appointment. Those specialists wouldn't mind taking one or two more patients. We can earn money with a clear conscience," Goldteeth said. "We won't be able to sustain our current jobs. We have to… Yes, we're transforming!"
"Brother, let's go to Imperial Capital. They can sell up to several thousand for an appointment," one of the young men said.
"Dumb*ss!" Goldteeth kicked him under the table and scolded him. "Can't you use that tiny brain of yours? The hospitals in Imperial Capital are all under contracts with large security corporations. If you tried to compete with those security firms, I can guarantee that you wouldn't even survive a day."
…
Author's note:
When I was working in Weihai from 2009 to 2010, the Chief of Medical Affairs was the warden for senior military officials. The hospital was relatively new and there were people collecting fees in the developmental zone. When they came to the hospital, the chief contacted a few trucks of soldiers and almost fought with them. I've also heard other legends from the local doctors and I haven't seen the chief in person but I really respected him a lot.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 185
