Viet Nam hospital fined VND1.4 billion for environmental law violations and dumping of clinical waste.

Le Ngoc Tung Hospital in southern Tay Ninh Province of Viet Nam has been fined VND1.4 billion (around £41k) for illegally burying untreated medical waste in a local district.

The decision was issued by the People’s Committee of the province, which also ordered the seizure of two vans used by the hospital to transport the medical waste for illegal burial.

Earlier in June, two security guards of the hospital were caught red-handed by the police, when they were burying three packages of medical waste weighing more than 100kg in Chau Thanh District’s Thanh Binh Village.

The police said the packages contained used gloves, needles, bandages and other items.

The two guards admitted they had been burying untreated medical waste there and in some other parts of the province since January 2014.

Local police dug up some 60 tonnes of untreated medical waste buried by the hospital.

Of course VND 1.4 billion seems like an eyewateringly large fine but the currency is weak and in sterling it might not be too bad. But the impact a VND 1.4 billion would be commercially crippling.  Appropriate perhaps, but if that causes the hospital to fail due to the financial impact of the fine, then a lot of Vietnamese patients will not be treated.

Which is worse?