A video in which a doctor beats a patient during an operation has become popular in China. The surgeon was suspended, and the head of the hospital was fired.

According to Shine, surveillance video of an operation in 2019 showed a surgeon at Aier Hospital in the city of Guigan hitting a patient during surgery.

The CEO of a hospital in southern China has been fired and a surgeon suspended, Aier China reported on Friday, after the video sparked public outrage.

A video posted by a Weibo user shows a surgeon hitting a patient on the head at least three times during eye surgery.

The blogger who published the footage said that the patient was making noise on the operating table because of the pain. However, instead of calming the patient down, the doctor punched her in the head. After the operation, the patient became blind in the left eye. As her family began to search for answers, the doctor denied hitting the patient.

The hospital issued a press release Thursday evening saying the incident occurred on Dec. 12, 2019, and the patient, an 82-year-old woman, experienced discomfort during surgery due to local anesthesia. She often turned her head and eyes, which could lead to complications, the hospital said.

Because the patient spoke only the local dialect and did not respond to the doctor’s warnings in Mandarin, the surgeon “treated the patient harshly in an emergency.”

After the incident, the doctor and the patient settled the misunderstanding and came to an agreement, the hospital said.

However, Aier China said the hospital did not report the incident to headquarters and the doctor’s behavior was against medical regulations. On Thursday, Aier China announced the firing of the hospital’s CEO and the suspension of a surgeon for “serious violations of group regulations.”

Aier China has not responded to allegations that the doctor assaulted the patient, causing her to lose her eyesight.