Liao Dan, an unemployed 41-year-old man, was accused of defrauding Beijing Hospital of 172,000 yuan in medical expenses in order to save his seriously ill wife. However, with the help of public donations, he repaid the money at Dongcheng District People's Court on July 17, 2012, with the hope of receiving a more lenient sentence.

Liao was arrested on Feb. 21 and released on bail on Mar. 8 before standing trial on July 11, accused of duplicating the hospital's seal and using it to make fake receipts for his wife's blood dialysis treatments. Liao's wife, Du Jinling, suffers from uremia. At trial Liao admitted the offences, which spanned the time period from November 2007 to September 2011. The total cost of the treatments was about 172,000 yuan (US$27,300). The prosecutor suggested that Liao be sentenced to between 3 and 10 years in prison and the judge told Liao that he could return home to take care of his wife, but he must promise to return to court when summoned.

Explaining his actions, Liao said that both he and his wife are unemployed with a 12-year-old son, and that his wife, who is from Hebei Province, does not have permanent residency in Beijing, which means that she does not qualify for medical insurance in the capital. Liao was compelled to make the fake official hospital seal due to the fact that the couple couldn't afford the medical fees to continue his wife's dialysis treatments, which came to more than 5,000 yuan a month.

Liao's trial and predicament was soon picked up and exposed by Chinese media and has become a hot topic for discussion. Since the start of the trial, more than 1.58 million people on the Sina micro-blogging website have joined the discussion, with many criticizing the country's current medical system. Many offered donations to help Liao and his wife and as of July 17, donations had exceeded 400,000 yuan. Among the donors was Chen Lihao, a member of Guangdong Province's Zhuhai Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Chen offered Liao 170,000 yuan.

Liao has formally authorized the China Foundation for Social Assistance to oversee the fund and ensure that all funds are used only for the specified purpose. Liao's first use of the donated funds was to pay his outstanding debt to the hospital. Chen confirmed to the Beijing Morning Post that Liao had paid his medical fees in their entirety, to the tune of all 172,000 yuan. He made the payment to the District People's Court on the morning of July 17. Liao said the remaining donations will be used for his family's living expenses.

Commenting on the fortunate turn of events for him and his family, Liao said that he was lucky that so many kind people had taken note of his family's plight and decided to help. He vowed to continue caring for his wife if he was granted leniency by the court.

Many netizens have argued that the court should reduce Liao's sentence and give him support and donations. However, Yi Shenghua, a lawyer from the Yingke Law Firm who has followed the case closely, does not think that Liao will be given probation said public opinion should not be allowed to sway the court.

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong July 19, 2012)

廖丹是一名北京下岗工人，他为救患有重症的妻子，私刻医院收费章，四年间涉嫌骗取北京医院17.2万元医疗费。然而，在众多网民的支持帮助下，7月17日廖丹已将这笔款项退还东城区人民法院，希望法院能对其从轻判处。

廖丹于2月21日被逮捕，3月8日获保释，7月11日再次出庭受审，他被指控私刻医院印章用于制作假发票，以支付身患尿毒症的妻子杜金领血液透析所需费用。廖丹对自己2007年11月至2011年9月期间的犯罪正事实供认不违。治疗费用共计17.2万元人民币（约27,300美元）。检方建议廖丹被判处3至10年有期徒刑，法官说廖丹可以暂时回家照顾他的妻子，但他必须保证在法院传唤时准时出庭。

廖丹说他和妻子都已下岗，他们有一个12岁的儿子。他的妻子来自河北省，没有北京户口，不能享受北京市医疗保险，夫妻二人根本负担不起每月5000多元的医疗费。廖丹因此不得不私刻公章制作假发票以维持妻子的透析治疗。

廖丹的困境和他所面临的审判很快被媒体曝光，成为热点话题。自开庭以来，已有158万网民在新浪微博网站加入讨论，很多网民批评现行的医疗体制，还有很多网民为廖丹夫妇捐款。截至7月17日，捐款总数已超过40万元。其中广东省珠海市政协委员陈利浩给廖丹捐赠17万元人民币。

廖丹正式授权由中华社会救助基金会全程执行这笔善款，专款专用。他决定将捐款首先用于支付所欠的医院费用。陈利浩已向《北京晨报》证实，廖丹已于7月17日上午将全部17.2万元欠款送交东城区人民法院。廖丹说其余的捐款将用作家人的生活费。

廖丹说这一切对他来说是一个转机，因为有这么多善良的人们在帮助他的家。他说如果自已能得到从轻处罚，将会尽心照顾妻子。

许多网民说，法院应该对廖丹从轻判决，并给予他帮助和捐款。然而，密切关注该案件发展的北京盈科律师事务所律师易胜华认为廖丹不会得到缓刑，他说民意不应允动摇法庭的判决。