Ambulance chaser beats up doctor

NST: KLANG: They try their best to blend in with the crowd at the hospital emergency rooms, but they are not the concerned family members they pretend to be.
Touts, working undercover for insurance companies and shady law firms, have been known to wait in emergency rooms to take advantage of accident victims.
But one went too far on Saturday night when he assaulted a doctor at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) for asking him to leave the hospital.
Dr Aniljeet Singh Darmar, 29, lodged a police report on the same night, saying that the tout had barged into a restricted area at 8.30pm as he was about to operate on an accident victim with a broken leg.
He said he asked the tout to leave but the latter refused and pushed him hard. A scuffle ensued and the tout punched Dr Aniljeet in the face, leaving him with a bruise.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Mat Yusop said police received the report at 9pm.
"The 29-year-old man has been remanded for four days to assist in investigations."
HTAR director Dr Ghazali Hasni Md Hassan said touts were turning into a menace not only at HTAR, but other hospitals nationwide as well.
"These touts receive tip-offs from their inside contacts such as ambulance drivers, hospital attendants and even mortuary staff.
"They come from various agencies, lawyers' firms, insurance companies and tow truck companies."
Dr Ghazali said the touts interfered with the doctors' work and were aggressive as they also competed with each other to get new clients.
"They couldn't care less about the patient's condition as they earn commission by filing insurance claims and signing up new clients.
"Sometimes, they harass patients even when they are not stabilised yet. They have become a constant harassment to the staff."
He also claimed this was not the first time a hospital staff had been assaulted by a tout.
"They get angry when we try to stop them as they feel we are trying to prevent them from making a living but the patient's life is our priority."