COLOMBO, June 1 (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan burglar who pretended to be a patient to steal cash from a hospital ended up in a ward himself after he jumped out of the window and broke his leg.

"The robber came and pretended to be admitted as a patient, and while he was in the ward, he opened a nurse's handbag and took money and a cell phone," said Mahanama Rajamantharee, director of Ragama General Hospital just north of the capital Colombo.

"Staff caught him, he struggled and jumped from the first floor window."

Police said the man broke his left leg during the fall and was taken to another hospital in the area, where he is now receiving treatment.

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