Society
Murder in mind
By Cao Li, Hu Yongqi and Peng Yining (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-30 07:50
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The source said the suspect looked "confused" when he was questioned and his answers under interrogation were often not logical, the paper reported.
The media also said Zhang told the 110 operator that he had killed his family. When she asked why, he responded: "I don't know. It was like I was in a trance."
The police said they are still investigating claims the suspect is suffering a mental illness and whether he checked into the Daxing Mental Disease Hospital.
However, Gu Kaijie, a counselor with the Shanghai Xinchao Psychological Consultation, said whether it is proved Zhang visited a hospital to get help before the killings or not, the incident should deliver a massive wake-up call to the country's mental health authorities.
"If this man was thinking and talking about what he was going to do when he went to the hospital the first time, and if the doctors there did not pay enough attention, there are serious questions that need to be asked about our mental health system," he said. "If someone is aware of a problem and tries to get help, proper measures to intervene would help avoid such tragedies.
"A doctor should communicate with patients and their families and teach them how to get along and avoid disputes that could trigger violence."
Gu argued that the mental trauma caused by the first killing in the block - when Li is alleged to have murdered his parents, wife, sister and two sons on Nov 23 - may even have been a trigger for such violence.
"The two killings are random cases and have not been linked by police, but a person with a mental condition could realistically have been influenced by the first slayings," he said. "If counseling had been provided to residents in the neighborhood after the first killing, another tragedy may have been avoided.
"It is not just the hospitals, the whole society has failed to pay enough attention to mental health, and efficient systems to track and treat mentally ill patients are still not in place."
On Monday, Wang Jian, a doctor with Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, was invited by the local property management company to Huangcun village to offer psychological counseling to residents living close to where the murders occurred.
"The most efficient time to give counseling is within 72 hours of a trauma. Most of the people I talked to appeared to be scared, and were suffering insomnia and had lost their appetite," he said.
But no matter how strict the mental health safety mechanisms are or how much counseling is given to people after mental trauma, he said that violent incidents such as the murder of Zhang's family were almost impossible to predict.
"Things like this happen everywhere, including places with better care for mental health," he said. "Chaoyang district in Beijing has a mental health prevention system covering every community clinic. However, we need to survey patients like we did before the Beijing Olympics Games and anyone reported to have violent tendencies should either be provided medicine, counseling or hospitalized."
Li Meijin, a professor in criminal psychology at the Chinese People's Public Security University in Beijing agreed and also dispelled the belief being put across in the media that the level of crime committed by people with mental health issues was on the rise.
"Murders like this have always happened. The only difference now is that they are now reported more often and receive wider coverage thanks to the Internet and mobile phone technology."
Despite speculation in the media and some arguably knee-jerk reactions by mental health experts, many in the legal profession have warned not to jump to conclusions about Zhang's reported claims of insanity. Pleas of diminished responsibility due to a mental illness can sometimes work in a suspect's favor when it comes to sentencing.
"If he is proved to be suffering insanity at the time of killing to the point that he could not recognize or control himself, he could receive a more lenient sentence or even escape a murder charge," said Chen Zhihua, a lawyer from Beijing Chenzhihua Law Firm, experienced in forensic psychiatry.
Police told China Daily yesterday that Zhang is expected to undergo psychological tests in the near future to determine whether he suffers mental health problems.
Zhang was raised in Dongdian village, also in Daxing district.
After failing the college entrance exam, he enrolled in a professional school where he learned about finance, joining the staff of the Beijing Rural Commercial Bank after graduation. He married Tian, his co-worker, in the late 1990s.
Zhang's co-workers declined to comment when approached by China Daily.
Wang Shanshan contributed
