Patient Charged with Attempted Murder After Setting Fellow Patient Ablaze in Sydney Hospital
A 48-year-old man faces multiple charges after allegedly igniting accelerant in a hospital room, injuring one patient.
A patient at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly dousing another patient with accelerant and setting him on fire. The incident occurred on Tuesday night, October 13, prompting an emergency services response.
The accused, a 48-year-old man, is alleged to have poured an accelerant over 54-year-old Radovan Banic, as well as two other patients aged 63 and 64. Banic was subsequently set alight.
"I smelt it, but it was too late. He already lit me up," Banic, who was admitted for spinal treatment, told Nine News. "I could just smell petrol all over my hair."
Hospital staff extinguished the flames. Banic sustained minor burns and remained in a stable condition under observation. The alleged attack reportedly took place in the spinal unit, with the accelerant believed to have been concealed in a drink bottle.