Staging to 'bait' patients

Recently, at Thai Nguyen Central Hospital, there appeared "strangers" who staged a scene of "asking about and sharing medical conditions" to "entice" patients waiting to see a doctor at the hospital, in order to buy and sell drugs of unknown origin.

The hospital security team discussed and asked Ms. M. for information about the incident.

According to Ms. Hoang Thi M. (victim), on July 15, while waiting to be examined at the Examination Department, a woman approached, shared and invited her to buy a tuber called "Thien Ma" with many uses, which could support the disease she was experiencing.

Believing that the other person was also sick like her, Ms. M. agreed to buy 3 "Thien ma" tubers for 4 million VND. However, because Ms. M. did not have enough money, this woman offered to bring it to her home, with an additional shipping fee of 100,000 VND.

After paying the above amount and receiving 3 "Thien ma" tubers, the next day, feeling suspicious about this type of tuber, Ms. M. brought it to a traditional medicine store to ask, only to find out that this type of tuber is very cheap, only a few hundred thousand VND/kg.

On July 17, Ms. M. continued to go to the hospital for a medical examination and was approached again according to the scenario she had encountered before. Ms. M. reported to the Hospital Security Team. Through initial information exploitation, the subject named Ngo Thi B., born in 1963 in Tich Luong ward (Trung Thanh ward, old Thai Nguyen city); in her bag she carried 7 "Thien ma" tubers and more than 4 million VND in cash; the subject had bought these tubers in Sa Pa to resell. After a period of working, Ms. M. received the full amount of 4.1 million VND.

In folk medicine, there is no "Thien ma" root, only "Thien ma" root. This is a traditional herb, first recorded in the book "Shen Nong's Herbal" about two thousand years ago, widely used in treatment. However, not everyone knows and uses this root correctly.

Through the case of Ms. M., Thai Nguyen Central Hospital recommends that people when coming to see a doctor need to be vigilant to avoid being scammed, losing property as well as affecting their health; do not believe in offers, buy medicine from people with unknown background, medicine of unknown origin and not yet inspected; should only buy medicine when prescribed by a doctor.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/phap-luat/202507/dan-canh-moi-chai-nguoi-benh-a730c21/