CHINA, NATIONAL NEWS: When Ghosts Kill, Who is to Blame?
By Lianne Li
Yu Yiang heard something filthy. So he picked up a kitchen knife and slashed his wife to death in her sleep for fear that she might be hurt. Then he kindled some clothing to burn down the house to get rid of someone he believed to be on his roof.
A few months ago, with a stick in hand, Li Changming struck a road maintenance worker dead on the street. When interrogated by the police, he insisted that he was innocent of the crime, for his brain was completely washed out.
So was Zeng Qunfu's, who killed two children in his village two years earlier.
They are now locked behind the steel bars of a lunatic asylum in southwestern Shunfu county, Sichuan province. Doctors have diagnosed the ghosts in their minds as severe schizophrenia, and treated them with 51 other mentally ill patients, most of whom were also confined for violent episodes.
There are at least 16 million people with severe mental illness in China, according to the latest numbers released by authorities in a survey conducted in 1992. Only 20% of them will receive timely treatment, leaving the vast majority liable to bring harm to themselves and other people.
The families of these mentally ill people are responsible for monitoring them, based on the law. But in many cases, the families are unable to take care of them.
"We cannot read, and know nothing about it. We thought he was well because he had been treated," said the mother of Yu Yiang. "He didn't take his medicine. When we told him to, he'd piss off. We never thought this could recur."
While his three sisters were working in the city, Zeng Qunfu was left with his elderly parents, who could not restrain him. He roamed about his village, pounding on the doors of neighbors for nothing. The village head shrugged off complaints, saying that he could do little with loonies.
But things only get worse if the family can't handle the patients properly.
In the fourth year of his marriage, Ling Chuang was inflicted with bipolar affective disorder. His wife, Yu Ying lived in horror ever since. The awful temper of Ling often brought her punches and kicks. One night in March 2004, in the middle of her husband's abuse, she was nearly strangled to death. A decision was set in her mind: after 18 years of abuse, she and her son were going to live. Later that night, she strangled her husband with an electrical wire when he was sound asleep. For that act of desperation, she was imprisoned.
"Mentally ill people lapse from the society, which makes it difficult to treat them because they need to adjust to social life in a way that brings the least harm to themselves and their families," said Sun Dongdong, a law professor at Peking University. "Actually, the chances that mentally ill people will commit crimes are much less than ordinary criminals," Professor Sun pointed out. "So why wouldn't we tolerate them? It is the responsibility of the families to take custody. However, when their families are unable to handle them, the government should take the responsibility."
In countries like France and Germany, doctors visit families with mentally ill patients regularly and report their acts of violence in time to enforce treatment. Sweden has set up mental institutions in communities to take care of mental illness at all levels. However, China has not coped with the problem effectively. There are no concrete laws or regulations regarding mental health at present. In some rural areas, the officials scarcely deal with the problem; some even have little knowledge of the state of mental patients in their region.
"The government should ensure that communities provide necessary medical care and protect their safety," Professor Sun concluded.
Yu Yiang heard something filthy. So he picked up a kitchen knife and slashed his wife to death in her sleep for fear that she might be hurt. Then he kindled some clothing to burn down the house to get rid of someone he believed to be on his roof.
A few months ago, with a stick in hand, Li Changming struck a road maintenance worker dead on the street. When interrogated by the police, he insisted that he was innocent of the crime, for his brain was completely washed out.
So was Zeng Qunfu's, who killed two children in his village two years earlier.
They are now locked behind the steel bars of a lunatic asylum in southwestern Shunfu county, Sichuan province. Doctors have diagnosed the ghosts in their minds as severe schizophrenia, and treated them with 51 other mentally ill patients, most of whom were also confined for violent episodes.
There are at least 16 million people with severe mental illness in China, according to the latest numbers released by authorities in a survey conducted in 1992. Only 20% of them will receive timely treatment, leaving the vast majority liable to bring harm to themselves and other people.
The families of these mentally ill people are responsible for monitoring them, based on the law. But in many cases, the families are unable to take care of them.
"We cannot read, and know nothing about it. We thought he was well because he had been treated," said the mother of Yu Yiang. "He didn't take his medicine. When we told him to, he'd piss off. We never thought this could recur."
While his three sisters were working in the city, Zeng Qunfu was left with his elderly parents, who could not restrain him. He roamed about his village, pounding on the doors of neighbors for nothing. The village head shrugged off complaints, saying that he could do little with loonies.
But things only get worse if the family can't handle the patients properly.
In the fourth year of his marriage, Ling Chuang was inflicted with bipolar affective disorder. His wife, Yu Ying lived in horror ever since. The awful temper of Ling often brought her punches and kicks. One night in March 2004, in the middle of her husband's abuse, she was nearly strangled to death. A decision was set in her mind: after 18 years of abuse, she and her son were going to live. Later that night, she strangled her husband with an electrical wire when he was sound asleep. For that act of desperation, she was imprisoned.
"Mentally ill people lapse from the society, which makes it difficult to treat them because they need to adjust to social life in a way that brings the least harm to themselves and their families," said Sun Dongdong, a law professor at Peking University. "Actually, the chances that mentally ill people will commit crimes are much less than ordinary criminals," Professor Sun pointed out. "So why wouldn't we tolerate them? It is the responsibility of the families to take custody. However, when their families are unable to handle them, the government should take the responsibility."
In countries like France and Germany, doctors visit families with mentally ill patients regularly and report their acts of violence in time to enforce treatment. Sweden has set up mental institutions in communities to take care of mental illness at all levels. However, China has not coped with the problem effectively. There are no concrete laws or regulations regarding mental health at present. In some rural areas, the officials scarcely deal with the problem; some even have little knowledge of the state of mental patients in their region.
"The government should ensure that communities provide necessary medical care and protect their safety," Professor Sun concluded.
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