The next hearing in the Yaounde General Hospital trial has been slated for August 1, 2013 for submissions by the prosecution.
Njifen Enock, stores accountant at the Yaounde General Hospital has said that François Sandji embezzled equipment worth FCFA 77 million from the hospital. Njifen Enock was testifying during the third session of the case pitting the State of Cameroon and the Yaounde General Hospital against François Sandji at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.
During the examination-in-chief, Advocate General, Wanki Tsenikontsa, sought to know the evaluation made on the embezzlement document of the Yaounde General Hospital. Njifen Enock said when he arrived at the Yaounde General Hospital in 2008, the embezzlement case was already existing. The hierarchy of the hospital asked him to make an evaluation of the document against the company Speedi, led by François Sandji.
The hospital, he said, gave him the comparative situation of the inventory of the departure of Francis Sandji, made by a mixed committee comprising Ministry of Finance, Speedi and the Yaounde General Hospital. He explained that when the comparative situation of the inventory was given to him, he used a document showing the list of equipment and on which there was a table on which equipment that were missing had been ticked.
Defence lawyer, Barrister Abel Longa argued that the document had no value because it was signed by the Yaounde General Hospital but not by François Sandji. On his part, Barrister Njapndouke Kentoum, representing the State, argued that the documents were signed by François Sandji because they were signed in his presence.
On the value of the stolen equipment, Njifen said the equipment was evaluated at FCFA 77 million. Njapndouke Kentouma asked the accountant whether there was a procedure for the outing of equipment from the hospital. He said there was and that any equipment that goes out without the accord of the stores accountant is a fraudulent act. Asked whether the procedure for the removal of equipment in the hospital was respected, he said he did not think so because there is no document which shows that equipment which belongs to the Yaounde General hospital and found elsewhere were supposed to be there.
On the payment of bills, defence lawyer Abel Longa asked whether Njifen was aware of the bills that François Sandji was claiming from the the Yaounde General Hospital. Njifen said he was aware. On the FCFA 77 million that François Sandji has to pay, Barrister Abel Longa argued that the equipment was bought in 1988 and the evaluation was done in 2005. Njifen said he evaluated the equipment on how much it will cost in FCFA.
Still on the evaluation of the equipment, defence lawyer, Abel Longa said Njifen Enock as stores accountant evaluated one cup of ice cream at FCFA 2,664,000 whereas the cost stands at FCFA 1600. So, for the 20 stolen cups the cost is FCFA 53 million. He concluded that Njifen had inflated the prices of the equipment. Njifen in reply said in the document there is a machine which produces ice blocks. The case was adjourned to August 1, 2013 for intermediary submissions by the prosecution.
