The suspect stole the purse from Hannah Wambui Mwangi who had taken her one month old granddaughter for post natal clinic.
Wambui was referred to the laboratory where the suspect took her purse from her bag and fled.
He was however spotted by another patient who alerted her after which she started screaming, attracting the attention of hospital staff and other patients who went after him.
The suspect however discarded the purse that had Sh. 3,000 in a flower bed after he was finally cornered but confessed to the theft before he was taken to Murang’a police station.
The suspect said he had visited the hospital for optical treatment and that it was his first attempt to steal.
“I don’t know what came over me and caused me to steal the purse,” the suspect who hails from Kambirwa village said.
This happened after numerous patients complained of pickpockets in waiting bays in the county referral hospital.
While confirming the incident, Chief Officer of health James Gitau said the case was the first one to reach to the hospital’s management as no patient has previously reported cases of theft in the facility.
Gitau however noted that cases of staff members stealing from hospitals have been reported in the county citing the example of a driver and a casual laborer who stole drugs worth Sh. 50,000 in Kigumo sub district hospital.
It is reported that recently, a physically disabled man currently lost Sh. 10,000 to thieves in a private hospital in Murang’a town.
-Alice Waithera