The 30-year-old suspected of breaking in and stealing parts from power generators was not placed in pretrial detention. The prosecutor’s office asked the court only to place the detainee under police supervision and impose a travel ban.
The man told investigators that he had not broken into the room containing the generators because it… was open. (The prosecutors’ findings, however, are different.)
He added that he had robbed the hospital because he was already financially desperate. The man still faces up to 10 years in prison.
As a reminder, on December 18 we reported that a brazen and extremely foolish theft had occurred during the night of December 15–16 on the grounds of the Bolesławiec county hospital. The perpetrator, unknown at the time, forced open a door and broke into the room containing the power generators. He gutted the devices and took the components that would be easy to sell at non-ferrous metal collection points.
The crime was discovered by a porter during his Sunday rounds. The police were notified.
The most frightening fact is that the generators in question powered, among other things, the operating theatre, intensive care unit and maternity ward. It is frightening to think what could have happened if someone had been undergoing surgery at the time and there had been a power outage.
Representatives of the Bolesławiec ZOZ confirm that the theft committed by the arrogant and irresponsible burglar posed a real threat to the lives and health of the facility’s patients.
The hospital will now have to buy a generator, which is expected to cost approximately PLN 40,000. For now—thanks to local government officials from Powiat Bolesławiecki and Urząd Miasta Bolesławiec—patient safety at the ZOZ is being ensured by a generator loaned by Miejski Zakład Gospodarki Komunalnej w Bolesławcu.
The hospital director, Adam Zdaniuk, thanks MZGK president Władysław Bakalarz.
What is more, the person suspected of the hospital theft is the same individual who recently damaged five transformers. (The crimes took place in August and September of this year.)
In the suspect’s car, police found a set of tools that had been used during the crimes.
The man damaged the transformers by drilling into the part containing the cooling oil and draining the entire contents of the tank. He obtained approximately 100 litres of oil from each transformer in this way, which he later poured… into his car’s fuel tank.
The thief caused losses exceeding PLN 50,000.