Clinical officer arrested by EACC for altering a medical report

The clinical officer is allegedly to have altered a defilement report after receiving Sh9, 000 bribe. [Courtesy]

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested a 40 year-old clinical officer attached to a public hospital in Kericho for altering a medical report.

EACC South Rift Regional director Mr Hassan Khalid said Michael Kimutai Cheruiyot, a clinical officer at Kericho County hospital allegedly altered a defilement report after receiving Sh9,000 bribe.

“EACC arrested a clinical officer attached at Kericho level five hospital, he took a bribe of Sh9,000 to change a medical report of a case of defilement from negative to positive,” said Khalid.

Cheruiyot is accused of changing the report to implicate the suspect who had been accused of defiling a 14 year-old girl on July 22 and a complaint was launched.

The case was being handled by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers who arrested the suspect while the minor was taken to the hospital for medical examination.

According to medical examination, results of the crime turned negative, but the family of the minor allegedly wanted to implicate the suspect.

On August 9, the suspect who had been released by the police officers was re-arrested and on August 10.

After results turned negative, Cheruiyot is accused of calling suspect accused of the crime, and informed him he would change results.

“Examination revealed the minor had not been defiled. But there was a dispute between the two families and it seems that of the minor wanted to implicate the suspect,” he said.

To alter the results, the suspect further demanded a bribe of Sh9, 000.

Khalid said according to preliminary investigations, family of the minor wanted to implicate the suspect, in a crime he had not committed.

He said EACC officers from Nakuru conducted investigations and traveled to Kericho on Friday evening and arrested Cheruiyot.

Cheruiyot is currently detained at Kericho Police station where he is being interrogated and will be arraigned in court and charged with tempering with medical report and soliciting a bribe.

The director said more investigations into the crime by EACC and the police has been launched to arrest more and take action against more individuals.

Among those being investigated is family members to the minor who allegedly liaised with the clinical officer to tamper the results.

“More individuals shall be arrested and charged. It is wrong to implicate an individual in a crime they have not committed that is why we are interrogating the minor and members of her family,” said Khalid.

Meanwhile, he said ten officers from the county who were summoned over Sh100million tender for rehabilitation of Keringa Airstrip have all turned up for interrogations.

Those who were summoned to appear at the commission’s offices in Nakuru include Roads and Public Works Executive Charles Birech, his Chief Officer Peter Koskei and procurement head Lily Koech.

Seven other officials in the procurement department have also turned up.