TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video surfaced on Sunday (April 23) showing a woman repeatedly battering a hospital robot with a club.
On Sunday, a video appeared on Weibo showing a woman inside the lobby of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University in Jiangsu Province's Xuzhou angrily smashing a hospital robot with a club, reported Jiangxi Morning News. The hospital was cited by the newspaper as stating that their initial assessment was that the woman was suffering from mental illness.
A staff member of the hospital was cited by Boiling Point Video as saying the specific reasons behind her behavior are unclear and the hospital's security department and information office were in communication with the woman involved. It also stated that police have joined in on the investigation.
In the video, the woman can be seen striking the robot greeter in the head, sending fragments flying. In response, staff at the reception desk can be seen stepping back to take cover. The woman points and shouts at the robot and takes a swing at its monitor.
She points an accusatory finger at the robot and shouts at it again before swiping at its side. After pointing and shouting at bystanders, she takes two more swings at the robot.
Despite its many wounds and components scattered across the floor, the robot somehow springs to life and manages to swivel its head and raise its arms. The woman is last seen taking off her jacket in an apparent preparation to deliver more punishment before the video cuts off.
The Weibo account Dalian is Good described the woman as wielding the "golden cudgel," a reference to the magical rod used by the Monkey King in the Chinese classical novel "Journey to the West."
In a tweet posted on Monday (April 24), Twitter user Songpinganq pointed out that robots are increasingly being used to make doctor and medical appointments in China, leaving very few nurses to aid patients. "Many find it a frustrating process," wrote the author of the post.
— Taiwan News (@TaiwanNews886) April 24, 2023
