FERRAZ DE VASCONCELOS, BRAZIL-A Brazilian doctor faces charges of fraud after being caught using silicone fingers to sign in for colleagues.
The man, Thaune Nunes Ferreira, was arrested on Sunday for using fake fingers to cheat the biometric employee attendance device near the hospital she works.
She was caught by camera, and is accused for covering up the absence of six of her colleagues.
The investigation opened on Monday.
Her lawyer stated that she was forced to do this, since she was facing the possibility of losing her job.
Police said that she had six prosthetic fingers with her at the time of her arrest, six which were identified as bearing the fingerprints of her co-workers. The town’s mayor, Acir Fillo, has asked five medical employees to step aside, as they might have also been involved in the scam.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health will launch an inquiry of it’s own at the local hospital. Police investigation suggests that an upwards of 300 public employees had been receiving pay without work. He calls the town “an army of ghosts”. These ghost employees are all public workers in the health, education, and security sectors.
By: Julia Roake
Source: BBC
Image: BBC
13 March 2013
08:19am PDT