Canadian nurse caught punching elderly dementia patient 11 times in the face

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2008
A care worker at an Ottawa nursing home was captured on surveillance video leveling 11 punches to the face of a dementia patient.

The recording shows Jie Xiao, 44, struggling as he changes the diaper of 89-year-old Georges Karam, who suffers from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

The footage, provided to the Ottawa Citizen by Karam’s family, shows the confused elderly patient swiping at his caregiver several times in his room at the city-run Garry J. Armstrong long-term care facility.

The third swipe was the breaking point for Xiao, who went on to punch Karam several times in the face, shaking a gloved fist at him during the 28-second scuffle.

 

Xiao pleaded guilty last week to assaulting Karam, who speaks little English. He’s set to be sentenced later this year for the March 8 incident, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Karam’s relatives previously installed the video camera after they noticed bruises on his body, the newspaper reported.

Xiao later leaves the room, but returns almost 30 seconds later — making several gestures including a fist directed at Karam’s face.

He then tucks the vulnerable patient into bed, closes his eyelids and taps his head.

Xiao makes saluting and shushing motions to Karam, turns of the TV and lights and leaves the room.

Daniel Nassrallah, Karam’s grandson, said he was shocked when he saw the video at about 10 p.m. that day.

“I literally stood up and fell down, my legs gave way because I didn’t know how to respond to this,” he told the Ottawa Citizen.

Nassrallah frantically phoned an uncle and his brothers. He then rushed to the hospital before Xiao’s shift ended at 11 p.m.

Cops were there when Nassrallah arrived, the Ottawa Citizen reported, and arrested Xiao at the nursing home.

Karam was brought to a hospital, and doctors didn’t find any serious injuries.

Nassrallah said it was puzzling that Xiao would’ve hit his grandfather — especially since he knew the camera was in the room.

“We have a camera on him, and even that doesn’t deter him,” Nassrallah told the Ottawa Citizen. “To me, that’s mind blowing.”

Janice Burelle, general manager of Ottawa’s community and social services department, told city officials including Mayor Jim Watson that the incident was “deeply troubling.”

“I deeply regret that one of our residents was subjected to this incident,” she wrote in a letter obtained by the Ottawa Citizen. “The actions of this worker are completely at odds with our mission and our commitment to the health and the well-being of our residents.”