Two suspects were on Thursday arrested by police in connection with the disappearance of patients’ phones at Machakos Hospital.
The two reportedly walked into the hospital pretending to be sick before embarking on the stealing, largely through targeting unsuspecting patients at different sections of the medical facility.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers in Machakos have launched an investigation into the crime detectives believe has become prevalent at the institution.
Speaking to journalists, Nzioka Singi, the Head of DCI in Machakos confirmed the cases noting that the agency had already launched investigations into the matter. He further appealed to members of the public who have lost their phones to report to Machakos Police Station to aid investigations.
“I would appeal to anyone who has been stolen from to report the matter to Machakos Police Station promptly and we will investigate,” he noted.
CCTV footage seen by Kenyans.co.ke shows one of the suspects making his way to the hospital and leaving minutes later.
An hour later, one patient reported to the hospital’s management that her phone had been stolen which led to a search which eventually culminated in one of the suspects being caught red handed.
The victim who had lost her phone upon being shown CCTV footage identified one of the suspects as someone she had seen earlier in the X-Ray room.
“When I returned from my consultation from the X-ray I found my phone had been stolen that is when I reported the matter to the hospital,” she said.
On its part, the management noted that systems were being strengthened to address such situations going into the future, “Since all our payments are made via phone, some culprits have taken advantage to steal from patients,” the management explained.
The second suspect was arrested after being found to be in possession of a phone suspected to have been stolen from the hospital.
The two are set to be arraigned in court on Thursday.
