Criminal with mental problems ordered to receive treatment

A district court in Shanghai ordered a man with mental health problems who committed attempted rape to receive compulsory treatment, the first decision of its kind following the revision of the Chinese criminal law in 2012.

According to a report in the Shanghai Morning Post on Friday, the court of Huangpu district ordered the man surnamed Zhou, who committed the crime on Dec 7 but was exempted from criminal responsibility after an analysis showed that he has mental health problems, to receive treatment.

Zhou, a college student, followed the victim to a female restroom in a school and tried to rape her after threatening her with a knife. After meeting resistance, the man snatched a cellphone from the victim and escaped, the newspaper reported.

Before announcing the decision, court officials talked to Zhou's doctors and agreed with the request for compulsory treatment made by a prosecuting department. The court said Zhou would continue to harm others if left untreated.