Beijing prosecutors approved on Friday the arrest of a male suspect over the attempted murder of a doctor.

The suspect, surname Sun, stabbed a female doctor in the neck on Tuesday morning while she was working. Sun was a family member of a patient in the hospital.

Yang Wen, an emergency physician at Beijing's Civil Aviation General Hospital later succumbed to her injuries early on Wednesday morning.

China's Medical Doctor Association and Beijing Municipal Health Commission have both condemned the attack, denouncing it as an "extreme act."

China's National Health Commission said on Thursday that the incident was a serious criminal offence instead of medical dispute and that the act would be severely punished by law.

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China's medical body condemns attack after female doctor stabbed to death in Beijing