The 67 Criminal Municipal Judge in Bogota, acting as a Supervisory Judge, issued against the  Former Secretary of health of Bogotá, Héctor Zambrano Rodríguez, a preventive detention measure in a prison facility, for alleged irregularities in contracts that allowed the purchase of ambulances for the city.

The judge supported the petition of the General Prosecutor’s Office and considered that the offense committed by the senior employee was abominable and serious because he disappointed the trust of the citizens. The judge in his decision said “Héctor Zambrano as health Secretary of Bogota did not complied with his duty and he departed from the legal system”

The judge also considered that the accused poses a danger to the community.

The General Prosecutor´s Office brought charges  against the former Secretary of health of Bogotá, Héctor Zambrano Rodríguez, for the offenses of  embezzlement in favor of third parties, bribery, unlawful signing of contracts, and contract without compliance with the legal requirements. He did not accept the charges.

Zambrano Rodríguez is allegedly responsible of the facts committed between  April 22, 2009 and the first half of the year 2010, when he signed  the contract 1229 dated  2009 with  the company *Union Temporal de Transporte Ambulatorio de Bogotá for 63 thousand 203 million pesos in which, supposedly, he received a benefit of 9 per cent.

According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the former Secretary received money from the contract which sought the obtaining of equipped ambulances to assist the capital population.  Apparently, in such contract, there was an agreement between the former President of the Council of Bogota, Hipólito Moreno Gutiérrez, and contractors Emilio Tapia and Julio Gómez.

Zambrano would have been defrauded the district administration with approximately 17 thousand 500 million pesos. According to the prosecutor in charge of the case, Héctor Zambrano Rodríguez, as Health Secretary, affected the public funds with that contract and he possibly favored the Unión Temporal company without having the legal capacity to contract.

At the end of the hearing, Hector Zambrano was taken to La Picota prison, in the south part of the city,

* Union Temporal de Transporte Ambulatorio de Bogotá: company for ambulatory services.