Cairo Criminal Court has postponed the Health Ministry's bribery case to September 1. It ordered that two defendants be detained whilst releasing the other two defendants, asking them to attend the sentencing hearing on September 1. The decision was made by Chancellors Ahmed Refaat, Mohamed Asim Bassiouni, Samir Ali Hassan and Tareq Abdel Shakour, Head of the State Security Prosecution.
The court heard the defense of the third and fourth defendants, who said the Administrative Control Body's investigations, the prosecution's measures, the referral decision, and testimonies were illegal.
The fourth defendant is an engineer in the private sector and not an employee in the state-owned sector, as the prosecution alleged. Therefore, he should be released. The defense added the Administrative Control Body's investigations were illegal because they were based on false documentary interviews, confirming that the third suspected was not a member in the commission on fixing prices and making tenders. The defense of the fifth, sixth and seventh defendants called for releasing their plaintiffs, according to Article 107 of the Penal Code.
The public prosecution had referred Kamal Saeed, Engineering Adviser to the former Minister of Health, and other seven accused to the criminal court on charges of taking LE 300,000 bribes to help a company win a tender. The public prosecution called for the maximum penalty for the defendants due to their crimes against society, as they exploited their posts and influence to take bribes. The prosecution added that it had twelve evidences against the defendants. The first defendant, Kamal al-Sayed, took a bribe for a company for medical equipment, owned by defendant Hatem al-Shorbagi. The bribe was seized in the car of the first defendant. The second defendant admitted that he gave bribes through the company's staff in the form of in kind and cash gifts and electrical equipment.
In addition, the second defendant was paying LE 40,000 every month to the first defendant. He also gave him LE 5,000 and a computer. The prosecution confirmed that it seized a letter from the first defendant to head of the Health Ministry's Contracts Office to the effect that papers of the tender have been checked and the medical equipment will be sent from the company to the ministry soon. The prosecution added that it had a number of sound recordings and telephone conversations, confirming that the defendants took bribes.
