Nurse jailed for removing patients' nails
KYOTO (Kyodo) A former assistant nurse was sentenced Monday to three years and eight months in prison by the Kyoto District Court for tearing off the nails of six female patients.
Akemi Sato, 32, who worked at Jujo Hospital in Minami Ward, Kyoto, removed the fingernails and toenails of the six patients between September and October 2004, to relieve the stress she felt from the work imposed on her by her supervisors, according to the Kyoto District Court.
"The acts were cruel and relentless," presiding Judge Ryuichi Higashio said.
He said Sato took care that other people would not see what she was doing to the patients and pretended to be the one who discovered the acts.
Her lawyers had sought a lenient verdict, saying Sato suffered emotional problems.
But the court ruled that Sato was responsible for her actions, even though her onerous work and poor relations with her colleagues had somewhat impaired her ability to tell right from wrong.
Prosecutors had sought a six-year prison term, argued that she should be held responsible as she had targeted only those who could not resist.
