In Aktobe, authorities are investigating a situation involving a local resident: a man with a disability and his brother claim they purchased a wheelchair with their own money, but according to paperwork, the state allegedly provided it, reports infohub.kz.
According to Astana.tv, a shocking case has emerged in Aktobe: a man with a disability was left without assistance, yet documents indicate he supposedly received it—twice. It turned out that wheelchairs and walkers are listed in the papers as having been issued.
71-year-old Yuri Kaminenko said he has been unable to manage without outside help for almost a year. After fracturing his hip, he rarely leaves home. He was assigned first-degree disability status. His ex-wife and only daughter have long lived abroad, and contact with them is almost lost. Yuri can barely move on his own, and even a short walk without assistance is a real challenge for him.
“I dream of walking. Like before, I used to run and play football, so my legs would stop hurting. Doctors say this disease is incurable—you'll stay a cripple, we can't do anything, surgery is useless,” Kaminenko says.
His brother Alexander cares for him. He is also trying to obtain the social support to which Yuri is entitled. However, the family was denied a social worker's services. But another story surprised the relatives even more—the one about wheelchairs and walkers. It turned out that according to documents, all of this had already been issued to Yuri, and more than once.
“When I went to the social services office, they started looking and it turned out he had been issued a wheelchair—even two wheelchairs. And walkers had been issued. Everything was issued according to documents. And it turns out the signature is not his. I ask who signed—I bought the wheelchair myself. I even have a receipt; I bought it at the pharmacy for 47 or 57 thousand,” the man's brother says.
The city department of employment and social programs is now trying to figure out where the funds allocated for rehabilitation actually went. According to the department, Yuri Ivanovich allegedly personally received the wheelchair from a warehouse in Astana. However, who signed for him in the documents and why the relatives know nothing about it remains a mystery.
“As of today, we have called, but suppliers are not answering our calls, though the order was placed. The social services portal indicates that the person with a disability picked up the items from the warehouse. We are currently clarifying, and we have sent a letter to the relevant higher government agencies to find out how a person with first-degree disability could pick up items from a warehouse in another region,” commented Gulmira Suleimenova, deputy head of the Aktobe department of employment and social programs.
As emphasized in the report, the Kaminenko brothers hope that the investigation will help establish who received the assistance instead of the person who truly needs it, and how.