A doctor at a hospital in the Free State has fought off an alleged would-be rapist by biting his tongue off.
At the time of the incident, she was attending to the 32-year-old suspect who was posing as a patient at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein on Tuesday night.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said the suspect had allegedly tried to rape the doctor.
"The suspect fled the scene after the doctor bit his tongue off," added Mbambo.
Nearby health institutions were immediately notified to be on the lookout for the suspect in case he visited them seeking medical attention.
The police eventually tracked him to the National District Hospital, where he had sought treatment.
He is currently under police guard at the hospital and is expected to appear in court as soon as he recovers. It has not yet been established how he had managed to gain entry to the hospital at around midnight.
Mvambi said the suspect had first visited the hospital on Saturday posing as a patient.
"He pretended to be sick, but the hospital quickly established that he was not. The suspect then showed up at the hospital again on Sunday and security guards noticed that he was behaving strangely."
The suspect was then told to return to the hospital on Monday to see social work services, but he didn't show up," said Mvambi.
Done security assessments
"Immediate security measures were put in place to make sure that any breaches are swiftly attended to," said Mvambi. "It is by the grace of God that the doctor had the strength to fight back and bite the suspect's tongue off. She is currently undergoing medical tests and counselling."
Free State health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi applauded everyone who had played a role in ensuring that the suspect was swiftly arrested.
