I'll let the mods decide whether this should be placed in another thread, since this took place when PH was dying in hospital.
https://www.bt.dk/royale/politiet-e...edspligt-i-forbindelse-med-prins-henriks-doed
The police has launched a criminal investigation about a breach of confidentiality by one or more persons at Rigshospitalet.
On 9th February the court announced that PH's condition was seriously deteriorated and that Frederik was leaving Seoul.
On that day the journalist Trine Villemann said on radio that a source at Rigshospitalet had told her that PH was in fact dying.
- I personally can't recall having seen her being quoted among the myriad of articles that popped up at the time and it was something most of us thought ourselves.
Now someone has reported that to the police and in that context Trine Villemann has been called in to testify as a witness.
The police confirm an investigation is going on:
"We can confirm that Trine Villemann has been here and sign her testimony. She has been questioned on the phone. She is a witness in the case and is not charged. It is correct that an investigation is going on in that context (breach of confidentiality). We would like to confirm that, but apart from that I don't want to say much more".
Vi kan bekræfte, at Trine Villemann har været inde hos os og skrive under på sin forklaring. Hun er blevet afhørt telefonisk. Hun er vidne i sagen og er ikke sigtet. Det er korrekt, at der pågår en efterforskning i den forbindelse. Det vil vi gerne bekræfte, men ud over det, vil jeg ikke sige så meget mere,
Trine Villemann writes on her Facebook site:
"At 10.00 today I have to show up at the police. As someone may remember there is an investigation going on in order to find one of my sources. >someone< have reported something - that's all I can be told at present. I will of course under no circumstances reveal my source and in this family we generally have a strict view on that about trying to intimidate people to shut up".
Kl 10 i dag skal jeg møde op hos politiet. Som nogen måske husker er der en efterforskning i gang for at finde en af mine kilder. "Nogen" har anmeldt noget - mere kan jeg på nuværende tidspunkt ikke få at vide. Jeg vil naturligvids under ingen omstændigheder røbe min kilde og her i familien ser vi generelt ret stramt på det der med at forsøge at intimidere mennesker til at holde kæft
After the visit to the police, she wrote:"Update: Now I've been to the police. It's a politikommissær (*) no less (i.e. a pretty high ranking police officer) who is heading the investigation in this case. I'm not charged in the matter but a witness. That's why I for example can't be told who has filed a socalled >open complaint< (**) against Rigshospitalet for breach of the confidentiality, but you are allowed to guess".
OPDATERING: Nu har jeg været hos politiet. Det er såmænd en politikommissær (altså en ret højtstående politibetjent), der står for efterforskningen af denne sag. Jeg er ikke sigtet i sagen, men vidne. Derfor kan jeg f.eks. heller ikke få at vide, hvem der har indgivet en såkaldt "åben anmeldelse" mod Rigshospitalet for brud på tavshedspligten, men man har jo lov at gætte.'
(*) Don't know what the equivalent title would be in other countries. AFAIK a politikommissær heads a sub-department like fraud, homicide and so on, under the department of criminal investigation at the police.
(**) An open complaint = a compliant filed against an unspecified person.
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As for who could file a compliant, your guesses are as good as mine. A superior at Rigshospitalet, the court or the department under PET that is in charge of VIP protection are my best guesses.
Trine Villemann has a very poor reputation among the more serious journalists and whenever she credits "sources" they are often very questionable. However even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Now, will Trine Villemann herself face charges? No, I don't think so. After all she only reported what a source had told her.
Had she published PH's medical journal it would have been an extremely serious breach of the laws of privacy and confidentiality. Such a thing can only be excused if it is of vital public interest. - And even then...
She may have to appear in front of the Press Ethics Committee, but I doubt that as well.
As for anyone found breaching the confidentiality: Well, since this is now a police matter, rather than an internal matter, the person in question will at least get a fine, perhaps even a suspended sentence, depending on the person's position. And the person will no doubt be sacked and find him/herself pretty unemployable within the public hospital sector in Scandinavia. All employees at hospitals, even down to interns, sign a pledge of confidentiality. The breaching of which is a criminal offence.
- There are two things that are monumentally stupid to do in a small country like DK: Steal from your workplace and breach of confidentiality.
Employers talk among themselves you know. The higher your position, the more they talk.
You can be forgiven for cutting off the head of your mother-in-law and use it as table-decoration while you host a dinner for your boss, but stealing (a breach of trust) won't be forgiven!