Medical staff at a well-known psychiatric hospital accused of restraining a patient and causing death denied the charges at their first trial.
According to legal sources on the 15th, at the first hearing before Judge Park In-beom of the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 6, the attorney for nurse A, 46, who was indicted without detention on charges including occupational negligence resulting in death and violating the Medical Service Act, said, "We acknowledge the charge of violating the Medical Service Act, but deny the charges of occupational negligence resulting in death and unlawful confinement."
One nurse and two nursing assistants indicted along with A also stated that they acknowledge only the charge of violating the Medical Service Act. The side of attending physician B, 43, said, "We were unable to properly review the prosecution's evidence records," and noted they would state their position at the next date.
A and others are accused of causing the death of C, a woman in her 30s who complained of abdominal pain on May 27 last year, by failing to take appropriate measures.
According to the prosecution, they did not properly monitor the side effects of the antipsychotic medication administered to C and were negligent in follow-up observation. It was found that they subsequently confined C, who complained of pain, in a quiet room, restrained her hands and feet, or left her unattended.
C, who was hospitalized for treatment of diet pill addiction, died of acute pseudo-obstruction of the intestine 17 days after admission. The hospital is also accused of falsifying medical records to make it appear as though in-person examinations were conducted when they were not, and of administering a laxative that was not prescribed.
C's mother said in court that day, "This case is not a simple medical malpractice accident but neglect and abandonment (a crime)," urging, "Do not turn away from the injustice suffered by a small life and impose severe punishment on the medical staff."
The hospital in question is run by psychiatrist and television personality Yang Jae-woong, and the Bucheon City Public Health Center recently sent a prior notice of a three-month business suspension, saying unlicensed medical practices had been uncovered.
Meanwhile, Yang Jae-woong is also well known as the boyfriend of EXID's Hani. The couple, who have been openly dating since 2022, were scheduled to hold a wedding in September last year, but it was reported that they postponed the ceremony after this case became known.