Obtaining medicines from a government hospital by giving a bribe

Question

In a government hospital medicines are given free of charge, but if a bribe is not given, they put one off, and a poor person cannot get treatment elsewhere. So is it all right to give a bribe or not? And may a wealthy person also use such medicines or not?

Answer

If a bribe is given under compulsion in order to obtain one’s own right, it is not a sin. If the hospital is not designated specifically for the poor, a wealthy person may also take medicines from it.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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