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Last Tuesday, Xiao pleaded guilty to assault. A sentencing hearing is expected to be held later this year.

The assault took place at a time of growing concern about Ontario’s long-term care system. Former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer was recently sentenced to life in prison for the murders of eight patients in long-term care facilities. The province has announced a public inquiry, but NDP leader Andrea Horwath wants that expanded to take a broader look at what she calls a broken system.

Karam’s grandson, Daniel Nassrallah, an Ottawa lawyer who set up the camera, said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he first viewed the video just after 10 p.m. on the day of the assault. Nassrallah had set up the camera — which is about the size of a baseball, lights up in the dark and had wires running from it — on the wall so he could watch the video remotely over the internet.

“I literally stood up and fell down, my legs gave way because I didn’t know how to respond to this,” he said.

“We have a camera on him, and even that doesn’t deter him. To me, that’s mind blowing.”

Nassrallah said after viewing the assault, he first called his uncle, who is the substitute decision maker for his grandfather, then his brothers. He then headed toward the home in his car, hoping to get there before the shift changed at 11 p.m. On the way, he dialled 911.

The police were already on his grandfather’s floor when he arrived; as he and his two brothers got into the elevator, one of them spotted Xiao leaving through the front door. Nassrallah approached him and asked him to come upstairs with them, which he did. Nassrallah then showed police the video. They arrested Xiao on the spot, handcuffed him and took him to the central cell block.