DAMMAM, 14 March 2007 — Two young men were so distraught and angry at the death of their 71-year-old mother in a local hospital that they attacked hospital staff and had to be arrested, the daily Al-Watan reported yesterday.
The mother was taken to Al-Safwa Hospital for an undisclosed emergency condition related to her age. Doctors and nurses managed to stabilize the woman’s condition enough to transfer her to another hospital that specialized in the treatments she needed.
However, as arrangements were being made for the transfer, her condition unexpectedly took a turn for the worse and she passed away.
“Doctors left the room and after a while we heard a loud scream and yelling outside,” said a nurse who was quoted anonymously in the report. “Two men suddenly broke into the room and started swearing and assaulting us. They accused us of negligence that led to their mother’s death.”
One of the men struck a nurse in the head, knocking her out. Three nurses fled to a storage room, but the men pursued and attacked them before security guards could restrain them.
“My wife was beaten for doing her job, and she has nothing to do with what happened,” said the husband of one of the nurses who was assaulted.
The two men were arrested and are now out on bail awaiting trial.
