81-Year-Old Man Beaten Up After People Mistake Him As COVID-19 Quarantine Violator
When he tried to lodge a police report, the man was instead rushed to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) by men in PPEs.
By May Vin Ang — 21 Aug 2020, 12:00 PM
An 81-year-old man in Kuala Lumpur was beaten up and rushed to a hospital after being mistakenly identified as a COVID-19 quarantine violator
The elderly man, who asked to be identified only as Razak, said he was harassed and chased away from a mosque in the city after he wanted to perform prayers there on Wednesday, 19 August.
Razak told Malaysiakini that he was attacked after a few mosque-goers saw that he was wearing a pink wristband.
He was not given the opportunity to explain that he was actually hospitalised for heart issues and breathing difficulties, not COVID-19, and was discharged on Tuesday, 18 August.
He, however, had forgotten to take off the hospital wristband.
The misunderstanding had also caused a scare at the Sentul district police headquarters when Razak tried to lodge a report about the incident
According to The Star, Assistant Commissioner S Shanmugamoorthy confirmed the temporary closure of the police station after the police had reason to believe the senior citizen broke COVID-19 quarantine.
"The policemen on duty observed that the man had trouble breathing and he was coughing. He is also believed to have been discharged from the hospital recently," Shanmugamoorthy said.
They immediately called an ambulance and hospital staff in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) brought Razak to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).
Meanwhile, all police station personnel were told not to leave the premise and efforts to sanitise the building were quickly carried out.
Razak, who hails from Segambut, said he was relieved when the hospital staff finally confirmed he was neither a COVID-19 patient nor a quarantine violator
"The hospital detained me for a while, looked at my records, and realised why I had the wristband," he told Malaysiakini.
He was then brought home by his daughter who came to fetch him at the hospital.
Shanmugamoorthy said the police station also resumed normal operations at 4pm that day after confirmation from the hospital.
