Russian doctor punches patient to death

MOSCOW: Russian investigators have opened a criminal probe in the case of a patient who died after he was punched in the head by a doctor. The announcement of the probe Saturday said the incident took place Dec. 29 in a hospital in Belgorod, 570 kilometers (350 miles) southwest of Moscow. Video of the fight from a surveillance camera has attracted wide attention on the Internet and was shown on Russian state television. In it, the doctor rushes into an examination room, shouts “Why did you touch my nurse?” and pushes the patient toward a room away from the camera's sight. When a man who accompanied the patient tried to intervene, the angry doctor turned his ire on him and started beating him up. With the man down, the doctor turns his attention back to the patient, who had by then came back to the camera's view. The doctor punches the patient, who falls backward through a doorway, striking his head on the floor. At that instant, the patient's companion, who was earlier subdued, rises and attacks the doctor. After an exchange of punches, the man was knocked down. As the patient remained on the floor, the doctor realized what he did and tried to resuscitate him. The video caption says the patient died instantly. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the victim allegedly had kicked a nurse during another procedure. -arabnews