Court rejects abbreviated trial for B. Braun executives

SANTIAGO.- The criminal court of San Bernardo has decided not to hold an abbreviated trial for the five B. Braun laboratory executives charged with an "attack on public health resulting in death", in the case of 14 of the 23 people who died after taking the dietary supplement ADN Nutricomp.

As a result of the courts decision (and against what had been requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office) Robert Oertike, the chief executive of the company; Juan Costa, the director and manage of exports; Reinaldo Torres, the product manager for ADN; Egon Hoffman, the plant director; and Ezzio Oliveri, the quality control chief, will be subject to an oral trial.

The measure implies that the defendants could receive harsher punishments than they would have through an abbreviated trial, now risking up to 15 years in prison.

If the court had accepted an abbreviated process, which would have begun immediately, the Public Ministry had planned to request five years for each of the top executives and four years for the other two executives, due to their cooperation with the investigation.