China executes patient who killed doctor over nose operation: report

China on Monday executed a man who stabbed a doctor to death over what he considered a botched nose operation, media reported, in a case that spotlighted the country’s overburdened health system.

Lian Enqing was sentenced to death last year for a fatal attack on an an ear, nose and throat specialist in Wenling, in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Lian attacked the doctor because he “felt displeased with his nose and claimed to be suffering respiratory problems”, the official news agency Xinhua said.

The death sentence was carried out on Monday, the Chengdu Business Daily newspaper reported, citing family members who said they had met the condemned man briefly before his execution.

The attack last October prompted dozens of the doctor’s colleagues to protest outside the hospital in Wenling, urging stronger safety measures to deal with violent patients.

Doctors in China, the world’s most populous nation, are often poorly paid and overburdened with too many cases. Taking bribes for better care is reportedly a widespread practice.

Authorities have introduced security guards at some hospitals to protect staff from attacks.