GUANGZHOU -- A retired doctor in south China's Guangdong Province remains in critical condition after being stabbed in a knife attack by a former patient on Thursday afternoon.

Chen Zhongwei, former director of the stomatology department of the Guangdong General Hospital, is in a coma and cannot breathe without assistance after suffering life-threatening injuries at his home.

Police in Yuexiu District in the provincial capital Guangzhou said they first received reports of the attack at 5:20 p.m. Thursday.

After the stabbing, the male attacker jumped from the balcony of Chen's home and fell to his death, an initial police investigation showed.

Chen's wife also suffered injuries in the incident, police said.

The hospital confirmed that the man received medical treatment from Chen 25 years ago and had a history of mental disorders.

Deng Haiguang, Guangdong's deputy governor, demanded doctors try their best to save Chen, while urging a thorough investigation into the case.

Violence against medical staff has made headlines in recent years, underscoring strained doctor-patient relations in China.

In March 2014, a doctor at Chaozhou Central Hospital in south China's Guangdong Province was forced to march as a form of public shaming by relatives of a patient whose life he failed to save.

In February 2014, a doctor in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province was beaten to death by a patient.

Vice Public Security Minister Huang Ming said last month that the Chinese police will crack down on hospital-related crimes and show zero tolerance to perpetrators who assault and injure medical personnel.