No punishment for man who killed wife, son

A Beijing resident who killed his wife and son will not be punished because he was insane when he committed the crimes, Daxing district department of justice said.

Zhang Wuli, a 38-year-old bank employee, stabbed his wife and son on the morning of Dec 27.

After failing to take his own life, Zhang called police.

The killer is currently receiving compulsory treatment at a psychiatric hospital in Ankang Hospital, Fangshan district, Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

Police said Zhang told them during his interrogation: "The murderer was not me, myself."

Investigators said Zhang told them his wife and son begged him not to harm them but he could not stop himself, as if he were possessed by a demon.

After the brutal killings, Zhang used his victims' blood to write the Chinese characters "for the people" on the wall.

Zhang told police he had suffered from mental illness for a long time and had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Daxing district.

Ankang Hospital wasn't available for comment yesterday.

The local judicial service appraised Zhang as having psychosis and said he lost the ability to control himself when committing the crime. He was identified as incapacitated according to the law.

A procurator said police will not ask for an arrest permit for Zhang following the appraisal, said Beijing Times.

Ruan Qilin, a criminal law professor with China University of Political Science and Law, told METRO the psychiatric appraisal is usually only reached for criminals who act in a particularly unusual way.

"There is no love without reason, and neither with hatred. Zhang killed his closest relatives, but without normal motivation. So, I guess this was the reason why he got the appraisal," said Ruan.

He added that the next issues in Zhang's case might center around who can afford his treatment fees and the problem of what might happen if he is cured and allowed to leave the hospital.

"That is a worldwide headache because there is no standard to judge whether mentally ill people are completely cured. People may worry about being harmed by them again," said Ruan.

(China Daily 02/01/2010 page26)