China
14:24, 07-Dec-2017
Hospital staff detained for assault and illegal detention of TV reporter in C China
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Nine staff members at a public hospital in central China have been detained on suspicion of assaulting and illegally detaining a local TV reporter, police said on Wednesday.
They said the reporter from Shaanxi Broadcasting Corporation (SXBC), Wang Yi, was attacked on Monday when he visited Zhouzhi People’s Hospital in Shaanxi Province to investigate high premiums reportedly charged by the hospital’s mortuary for storing a former patient’s body.
The investigation centered on a female patient Yu Nana , who died in 2015 while giving birth at the hospital. Her family blamed the hospital and sued, finally winning the case last July. The local court ordered the hospital to pay Yu’s family a compensation of 500,000 yuan (about 75,500 US dollars), China News reported.
During the two years, Yu’s body was stored at the hospital’s mortuary. After the case closed, Yu’s family went to claim the body for burial. However, the hospital demanded the family pay a daily storage fee of 150 yuan, which added up to over 100,000 yuan (about 15,100 US dollars).
Yu's husband in front of the mortuary at Zhouzhi People's Hospital. /SXBC Photo
Yu's husband in front of the mortuary at Zhouzhi People's Hospital. /SXBC Photo
Yu’s family later told SXBC about their conflict with the hospital and Wang started investigating the incident.
According to Wang’s research, the storage costs should be no more than 24 yuan per day based on regulations laid down by Shaanxi's provincial price bureau, much lower than the amount claimed by the hospital, SXBC reported.
The reporter’s initial investigation also revealed that the mortuary was run and managed by a private entity instead of the hospital.
On Monday, when Wang visited for another interview, more than ten staff members from the hospital’s security and administration departments lashed out at the reporter, broke his camera and locked him in the mortuary room for dozens of minutes, the TV station reported.
Wang's camera was broken by staff at the hospital, it was reported. /Photo from Weibo
Wang's camera was broken by staff at the hospital, it was reported. /Photo from Weibo
After the attack, the staff members are alleged to have tried to silence Wang with 2,000 yuan and threatened to beat him again if he didn’t “smile to show cooperation” as they made a recording, CCTV reported, quoting a local paper.
He later reported the matter to police and received treatment at another hospital where he was diagnosed with head injuries and multiple bruises on his chest, back and limbs.
Bruises were discovered on Wang's back after the attack. /SXBC photo
Bruises were discovered on Wang's back after the attack. /SXBC photo
On Tuesday, the local government in Zhouzhi County stepped in and suspended the head of the public hospital. Police detained by Wednesday evening nine staff members suspected of involvement in the incident and are continuing investigations.
According to CCTV's report, the hospital was involved in another violent incident in 2000 when local paper Sanqin Dushi revealed that staff at the hospital had attacked its patients.