A 78-year-old’s surgeon called off his operation over a sip of water, and police say he showed up at the doctor’s Tesla with a hammer

A 78-year-old man from The Villages, Florida, Glen Lee Ong, was arrested on Oct. 9 after allegedly damaging his surgeon’s Tesla with a hammer. Police say Ong was angry his surgery had been called off because he took a sip of water, which went against his preoperative instructions.

As detailed in a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, police responded to a medical building after getting a call about a damaged Tesla. The surgeon told officers his co-workers heard two loud bangs, and the vehicle was found with two indentations on the windshield, about $1,600 worth of damage.

The Tesla itself captured the incident on video. The footage appears to show a suspect wearing a surgical mask getting out of a red pickup truck, walking up to the car with a hammer, and hitting the windshield twice before driving off.

Police say Ong blamed the surgeon for calling off his operation

The surgeon later identified the suspect as Ong, describing him as a “difficult patient.” When officers went to Ong’s home, he initially denied being a patient at the facility, knowing the doctor, or owning the red Chevrolet pickup seen in the video, WFTV reported. The Villages has seen other arrests draw attention this year, including a woman who was sentenced to 90 days after using her car to threaten cyclists.

Officers then examined the truck in Ong’s garage and said its license plate matched the one tied to him, and that lettering on the truck’s rear window had been removed. Ong later allegedly admitted to damaging the doctor’s Tesla.

Ong allegedly told police, “That guy screwed me over twice.” He said he was already dressed for the surgery when “he called it off just because I had a sip of water,” and police said he told them another procedure had also been called off after he had prepared for it.

Ong also claimed he removed his own license plate and the window lettering before damaging the car because he did not want to be caught. Police said he told them he wanted to hold the doctor accountable.

Ong was arrested on charges of criminal mischief causing at least $1,000 in damage and wearing a mask while committing a felony, according to the Wildwood Police Department. He was booked into the Sumter County Detention Center and bonded out the following day, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 3. The charges against him have not been proven in court.