A bogus attendant and his assistant were arrested by Karapitiya Hospital Police for allegedly stealing money and valuables from patients staying at the hospital. He was at the hospital as a private medical attendant.
The suspect (42) was a resident of Patigala in Elpitiya and his assistant (24) is from Ratnapura, police said.
They were arrested on a complaint made by a patient at the Ward No. 14 of the hospital that his mobile phone kept under his pillow had been stolen. He had told police that a person had assisted him the day before the theft took place.
The following day, dressed in a different dress, the suspect had come to the ward and the patient seeing him had informed the medical staff. He was arrested together with his partner who was waiting outside the hospital.
Police recovered the stolen money and the mobile phone from the suspect. Police said similar incidents were reported from the hospital in the recent past.
Suspect was produced before court.