Physician Killed by 95-year-old Patient’s Son

Netizens have called for harsher punishment for violence committed against doctors after Yang Wen, an emergency physician in Beijing, was hacked to death by the son of a 95-year-old patient. According to media reports, Sun Wenbin had grown increasingly hostile toward attending physician Yang as his mother’s health deteriorated while receiving treatment at the General Hospital of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Early on December 24, Sun hacked Yang in the neck with a cleaver from behind, killing her. The hospital blamed the patient’s failing health on her family for refusing consent to any treatment other than nutrition. Sun’s sister claimed that due to lack of beds, the family was forced to pay for emergency room treatment, which is not covered by social medical insurance. Netizens condemned the killing and expressed concern that such incidents would further deter people from entering the medical field. Such patient-doctor conflicts, known as yi’nao, are believed to have contributed to the nationwide shortages of medical personnel.