From Chinese Press

Abuse of power and malfeasance

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-16 08:30

As a tactic to disarm outspoken petitioners, local governments sent them to mental hospitals while ignoring those who truly need medical treatment such as mental patients. Such show of abuse of power and malfeasance is rampant, says an article on Southern Metropolitan Daily. Excerpts:

Recently a mentally disordered man stabbed two people to death and injured five others in Hepu county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. This case is not new given that the media has recently highlighted homicide cases by mental patients.

Statistics show that there are more than 16 million severe mental patients in China, while there were only 598 mental hospitals as of 2008. Over 90 percent of the mental patients don't have access to proper medical treatment. It's ironic that the police in Shandong and Hubei provinces have compulsorily sent several petitioners into mental hospitals. Local authorities tried to clampdown on the outspoken petitioners by sending them into mental hospitals, only because they offended locally vested interest groups. These show clearly the local governments' abuse of powers and malfeasance.

(China Daily 04/16/2010 page9)