CEBU CITY – A 51-year-old female nurse was fatally stabbed by a male patient over a bad joke inside a private hospital in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Thursday morning, Oct. 17.
POLICE recover a pair of scissors used by a male patient in fatally stabbing a nurse at the Bohol Doctors’ Hospital in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. (Contributed photo)
The name of the nurse was withheld upon the request of her family, said Police Lt. Col. John Kareen Escober, chief of the Tagbilaran City Police Station.
Francis Mora Justiniare, a 21-year-old utility worker of the Bohol Doctors’ Hospital, was injured in the attack.
The suspect was identified as Marlito Cardines Linguis, a 31-year-old resident of Barangay Magsaysay, Sevilla town, Bohol.
A joke that didn’t sit well with the suspect triggered the attack, said Escober.
Escober said that the suspect was among a group of individuals admitted to the hospital due to loose bowel movement.
Some of the patients were discharged on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The suspect was cleared for discharge on Thursday.
Escober said the nurse allegedly joked that the suspect will not be allowed to leave the hospital even after settling his bills.
He said the suspect’s sibling was already processing his release when the suspect attacked the nurse past 8 a.m.
Escober said the suspect took a knife from a table and repeatedly stabbed the victim.
The nurse sustained stab wounds in the hand, neck, and body.
Justiniare may have tried to pacify the suspect when he was also attacked, Escober said.
The suspect was neutralized by the hospital’s security guards when police arrived.
Escober added that the suspect was a drug surrenderer.
“He surrendered in 2016 or 2017. We are not sure if he is an active drug user until the time the attack happened,” said Escober.
Police said murder and physical injury charges will be filed against the suspect, who was detained at the custodial facility center of the Tagbilaran police.
“We will make sure that an airtight case will be filed against the suspect to give justice to the victim,” Escober said.