Police have detained a resident of the village of Zhalpaktal in the Kaztalovsky district of the West Kazakhstan Region, who stabbed an emergency department employee during flood prevention work. It is reported that the 26-year-old rescuer was helping local residents on the bank of the Karaozen River.
According to polisia.kz, law enforcement have launched a pre-trial investigation into the matter. The suspect has been placed in a temporary detention facility. The circumstances of the incident have not been disclosed.
It is noted that as of today, due to the floods, a local state of emergency of a natural nature has been declared in Uralsk and five districts of the West Kazakhstan Region.
A total of 919 personnel have been deployed for flood prevention work, including more than 700 police officers. In addition, 132 pieces of equipment have been brought in to combat the floodwaters.
This incident is another in a series of high-profile cases where residents have attacked service personnel, whose work often affects the health and lives of others.
Earlier, a video appeared on social media showing 36-year-old Nurbolat Dakebayev brutally beating an ambulance driver in a courtyard in Karaganda. It was later reported that he had been arrested, detained at a winter camp in the Karkaralinsky district. Subsequently, the beaten driver posted a video statement saying he forgave his attacker.
Later, it emerged that the police had reclassified Dakebayev's actions as hooliganism. This was on the grounds that a forensic medical examination allegedly established that the victim's bodily injuries were categorised as being of minor severity.
However, the victim disagreed with this and filed a civil lawsuit, demanding 5 million tenge from the defendant. According to the driver, he sustained more serious injuries than those determined by the forensic medical examination.