Draft to protect rights of insane

BEIJING - Only courts could decide whether a mentally ill person who has committed violent crimes should receive compulsory medical treatment if a draft amendment that was published on Tuesday is adopted.

The draft amendment to the Criminal Procedural Law says prosecutors must obtain an approval from a court before they can arrange medical treatments for defendants who are said to be mentally ill.

The proposed change is meant to protect basic human rights and maintain social stability, said Wang Minyuan, a law professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.