Russia opened an investigation on Saturday after a hospital doctor was captured on video punching a patient with a blow that killed him instantly.
The shocking incident in the southern city of Belgorod raised questions over a cover-up culture in state medicine, with the investigation only opened days later after security camera footage was released on YouTube and aired on national television.
Belgorod’s Investigative Committee said in the statement released on Saturday that the incident took place on December 29. It gave no explanation for the apparent delay in investigating the crime.
It said the doctor was suspected of causing death through negligence, for which he could serve up to two years in jail.
In the video, the strongly-built doctor in medical clothing drags the bare-chested male patient from the examination table, asking him “why did you touch the nurse?” and pushes him out of the doorway.
When the patient returns, the doctor deals him a single blow to the face and a crash can be heard as the middle-aged man falls backwards onto the floor.
Meanwhile the doctor continues to scuffle with another man accompanying the patient, and it is only minutes later that the medics notice the patient lying motionless and attempt unsuccessfully to revive him.