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"Then this medicine is not legal in our country?" "Not legal." "Then we need to save lives, who will save our lives?" He saved the lives of tens of thousands of Leukemia Patients, but was accused of suspected trafficking in Counterfeit Medicine. However, when the law was about to put him on trial, tens of thousands of ordinary people pleaded for him, and even teacher Luo Xiang supported him. "Everyone thinks that in the case of Lu Yong, you purchased drugs from overseas and sold them in China. On the surface, it seems that the law is violated, but it is permitted by social life. Behavior permitted by social life is definitely not a crime." And this person is the prototype of "Dying to Survive" Lu Yong. In the eyes of the police, he is a Counterfeit Drug Dealer, but in the eyes of Leukemia Patients, he is a living Bodhisattva. "Without him, I would have died." "Because later one of my fellow patients had... He has passed away in real life. Lu Yong This medicine only costs 200. Taking Counterfeit Medicine is illegal, but not taking Counterfeit Medicine will kill you. Which is more important, life or the law?" "He committed suicide first, passed away first, ended his life by himself, because this disease will eventually leave him with nothing but money and life." Crime Scene: Jiangsu Province, Wuxi City.
In May 2002, Lu Yong was diagnosed with chronic Leukemia during a routine check-up at the hospital.
Hearing this devastating news felt like a bolt from the blue for Lu Yong, who was only 34 years old at the time. He felt as if fate was playing a cruel joke on him, and there were several moments when he contemplated ending his life.
At that time, medical conditions were limited, and Leukemia could not be completely cured. Once diagnosed with this illness, patients would likely need to take medication for life.
Patients suffering from Leukemia relied on a drug called Gleevec to prolong their lives. Although it contained only 120 tablets, its price soared to 23,500 yuan, making it even more expensive than gold.
Despite Lu Yong's success in foreign trade and relatively comfortable family circumstances, the annual medical expenses of 300,000 yuan became overwhelming. The exorbitant cost of medication required lifelong use, and after two years of treatment, he had drained his family's savings and ruined the business he had worked so hard to build.
One day, while browsing online, Lu Yong stumbled upon an English post.
The post mentioned that a patient from South Korea had purchased a generic version of Gleevec in India at a significantly lower price—only 3,000 yuan per box. This was much cheaper than the original medication, and more importantly, the efficacy of the generic drug was reported to be the same as that of the branded one.
Excited by this news, Lu Yong quickly contacted a friend and managed to buy the Indian generic Gleevec through an overseas purchasing website.
When the medication arrived, Lu Yong felt a bit uneasy. However, considering that he could save over 200,000 yuan in a year, which would greatly relieve his family's burden, he decided to become a "guinea pig."
After taking the medication for a month, he returned to the hospital for tests. The results showed that the generic drug had the same efficacy as the original.
Upon returning home, he shared this incredible news with his fellow patients. Everyone was thrilled; some who were considering giving up treatment found renewed hope. However, over time they realized that even though it was much cheaper than the original drug, 3,000 yuan per box was still too expensive for an average family.
To ensure that more patients could afford their medication, they began frequently purchasing inexpensive drugs online while also negotiating with pharmaceutical companies in India to see if they could lower the price further.
After more than ten years of effort, the price of this generic drug had dropped to 200 yuan per box, while the imported original medication from Switzerland still cost 23,500 yuan per box.
"220.57 yuan."
Just when everything seemed to be improving, in November 2013, the police in Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province, arrested Lu Yong.
At that time, Lu Yong and his family were somewhat puzzled. Why was Lu Yong being arrested when he had committed no crime?
Upon investigation, they learned that just a few months prior, the police in Yuanjiang City had discovered Lu Yong's illegal purchase records while handling a case involving the online sale of bank cards.
"While expressing sympathy, we also have to acknowledge that Lu Yong has violated the law..."
During the police investigation, it was found that Lu Yong had purchased three bank cards belonging to others online, and one of these cards had already been used. More importantly, within less than three months, this particular card had transactions amounting to three million yuan.
"He is suspected of a sentence of less than three years in prison or detention. He is accused of knowingly possessing a forged credit card and illegally holding a large number of other people's credit cards while using false identification to fraudulently obtain credit cards. This falls under obstructing credit card management."
What puzzled many was why Lu Yong had illegally purchased these bank cards.
According to Lu Yong, he did not use these bank cards for illegal activities; his initial intention was simply to facilitate purchasing medicine for fellow patients. But if he was only trying to help his fellow patients, why didn't he use his own bank card?
Through transfer records and ongoing visits, it became clear that over the years, thousands of people had purchased generic drugs from India using the method provided by Lu Yong. Everyone trusted him greatly, and many processes required communication in English, which many patients could not understand.
In order to buy medicine promptly without delaying treatment, Lu Yong thought of getting a new bank card specifically for purchasing medicine for his fellow patients. But was that really the case?
"Are you going to buy it yourself?"
"I can't. I don't even have a computer, and I don't know how to operate one."
The patient in front of me is named Old Lady Liang, and she is a very special case.
Thirty years ago, her only son passed away from Leukemia. That was already a great misfortune, but three years ago, she was also diagnosed with Leukemia. In her quest for treatment, she has traveled to many hospitals.
During an interview with reporters, Old Lady Liang pulled out a bundle of train tickets she had collected over the years for her medical visits. Looking at the stack of tickets and receipts was truly heartbreaking, as they likely represented her life savings.
With only a monthly pension of 1,000 yuan, Old Lady Liang simply cannot afford the legitimate medication that costs over 20,000 yuan. Therefore, the cheaper generic drugs have become her only option for treatment.
"This medication is illegal in our country."
"If it's illegal, then who will save our lives?"
The suggestion for Lu Yong to consolidate funds through bank cards to purchase the medication came from the Indian Pharmaceutical Company. They found that there were too many people wanting to buy generic drugs, but after several attempts, they had not been successful.
Lu Yong was chosen to handle the bulk purchases because he was the first patient to contact them, his English was good, and most importantly, he was very helpful.
Thus, in August 2013, Lu Yong purchased three bank cards online specifically for buying generic drugs.
Although everything seemed reasonable at first glance, the police discovered that the bank card used for purchasing the medication had financial transactions with Lu Yong's personal bank account. At that point, they began to suspect whether Lu Yong was illegally profiting from these drug purchases.
In response, Lu Yong stated that while purchasing medication, many patients occasionally delayed their payments due to financial issues. The Indian Pharmaceutical Company required them to remit funds by a specific deadline. To ensure that his fellow patients did not go without medication, he would temporarily cover the costs with his own money, and these financial transactions could be verified through transfer records.
However, it seemed someone’s interests had been affected.
The police in Yuanjiang City were determined to turn this case into a solid conviction, so they presented another piece of evidence.
They claimed that Lu Yong had accepted free medication provided by the Indian Pharmaceutical Company.
"The benefits you received should be considered as... from this perspective, it can be said that you profited," they asserted.
But Lu Yong denied this, stating that it could not be classified as profit; rather, it was merely a small gift from the company.
"This medication is quite inexpensive now, only about 200 yuan per bottle. Given my current financial situation, it's absolutely manageable."
However, the Yuanjiang City police were not convinced by Lu Yong's arguments.
They believed that the generic drugs purchased by patients from India had not been registered or authorized for sale by the domestic Drug Regulatory Authority. Strictly speaking, these generic drugs were classified as counterfeit medicine and were prohibited from sale.
"If any harm arises from this medication, it would be a failure of the regulatory authorities," they warned.
Lu Yong was also suspected of selling counterfeit medicine. He and his fellow patients were aware of this issue; however, legitimate medications cost over 20,000 yuan. How many people could afford such expensive treatments?
Through another one of Lu Yong's fellow patients, it was learned that he had once lost everything in his pursuit of treatment, leading to a broken family. In despair and without funds for medical care, he contemplated ending his life until he met Lu Yong, who restored his hope for survival.
"I wanted to commit suicide, I thought about it, I ended my life by myself, because this disease will eventually make me lose both my life and my money. Without him, I would definitely die, because later on, a fellow patient of mine has already... In reality, he has passed away. If I don't take medicine, my life will not be saved, so the only choice is to buy Indian medicine, then... Then I have to break the law." Although everyone has always thought that Lu Yong is doing good things, the law is not merciful, Lu Yong was still detained in the detention center for suspected trafficking in Counterfeit Medicine and obstructing credit card management. But thinking of his own illness and the situation of his fellow patients, Lu Yong asked for bail pending trial. However, the Yuanjiang City police required Lu Yong to cooperate in recovering the 3 million yuan in stolen money from the case, but the money in the card was all used to buy medicine, leaving only 300,000 yuan. So Lu Yong's mother borrowed money from everywhere and raised 750,000 yuan to hand over to the Yuanjiang City Public Security Bureau. Later, Lu Yong was approved for bail pending trial, and then Lu Yong returned to his hometown in Wuxi. But it was not until July 2014 that the Yuanjiang City Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Lu Yong. As soon as this news came out, the Internet exploded. Not only did various media report it, but tens of thousands of Leukemia patients also supported Lu Yong, asking the judicial department to exempt Lu Yong from criminal punishment, and Luo Xiang teacher also stood up to speak for Lu Yong. Under the appeal of the majority of patients, the Yuanjiang City People's Procuratorate finally proposed to withdraw the case. Although Lu Yong avoided jail time, his mood was not much better. He was still worried about the legal purchase of generic drugs. Fortunately, after his efforts, the Supreme People's Court revised the laws and regulations to allow individuals to purchase generic drugs. At the same time, there was another piece of news that made Lu Yong happy, that is, the regular drug Gleevec, which costs more than 20,000 yuan, was included in the medical insurance, which can reimburse 75% of the medical expenses for patients. There are nearly 100,000 people suffering from chronic Leukemia in our country. It is because of Lu Yong that countless Leukemia Patients see the hope of survival, and the sky-high priced genuine drugs have become affordable drugs that everyone can afford.
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