Monk arrested for violent attack on nurse who took swab sample

The Anamaduwa Police yesterday took into custody a monk for allegedly assaulting a nurse who was obtaining a swab sample from him at the Base Hospital there.

The nurse had been admitted to the hospital with injuries to her head, police said.

The police said that the bhikku residing at a temple at Kumaragama had been undergoing treatment for a common cold and fever at the Anamaduwa base hospital. He had been referred for a PCR test at the COVID unit of the same hospital. While a swab sample was being taken, the monk had claimed he could not bear the pain, grabbed a ceramic plate from a nearby table and hit the nurse on her head, eye witnesses told the police.

The nurse fell on the floor and the monk was restrained by the hospital staff and later handed over to the police.

Dr. Padmini Abeyratne of the Anamaduwa base hospital said that the nurse had received serious injuries to her head and she was later transferred to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital for further treatment.