Former doctor to face homicide charges after school bloodbath
By Wang Xiang |
March 25, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PROSECUTORS in southeast China's Fujian Province yesterday afternoon approved the arrest of a former doctor on charges of intentional homicide following a frenzied knife attack at a primary school that left eight pupils dead and five injured.
Police said yesterday reports that the man suffered from long-term mental illness were incorrect.
However, it has emerged that the man made death threats against health officials.
The morning killing spree outside the gates of the Nanping Experimental Primary School in Fujian Province may have lasted just 55 seconds, but will cause many families a lifetime of grief.
The school offered counseling for students and staff when classes resumed yesterday after a 24-hour suspension.
Two of the injured were in a stable condition yesterday while the other three were in intensive care, said Liu Bin, an officer with Nanping's health bureau.
One had a high fever, serious lung injuries and circulation problems, said Chen Xiaojie, vice president of the No.1 Hospital of Nanping.
Teachers distributed chrysanthemums at the school gates yesterday as more than 2,000 students mourned the lost of their fellow pupils.
Most pupils were escorted to school by their parents. "It's the first time in four years that I have taken my son to school and I will keep doing so," the father of an 11-year-old boy told Xinhua news agency.
The alleged killer, Zheng Mingsheng, 42, was arrested at the scene. He was a doctor at a community hospital in Nanping before he quit last June, according to Huang Zhongping, a police spokesman.
Witnesses said they heard Zheng shouting "they make me crazy, I will kill you all!" before he attacked.
Two nurses who worked with Zheng said he never showed any symptoms of mental illness during the eight years he was employed by the community hospital.
One of his old patients said Zheng was always her first choice at the hospital when anyone in her family was sick "because he was kind and gave cheap prescriptions."
One of Zheng's neighbors concurred. "He was quite a sweet guy," the neighbor told China Youth Daily.
"Children living in the community all liked him and he always bought them snacks."
However, the neighbor said Zheng "started to act weird" about a year ago after he quit his job and his girlfriend left him - setbacks that apparently set his nerves on edge.
Zheng still lived with his mother and never married, the neighbor said.
He reportedly failed many times in his quest to find another job after resigning from the community hospital following numerous disagreements with his boss.
Zheng allegedly threatened to kill leaders of the local health authority because they would not allow him to open a private clinic.
Former classmates said Zheng was a man of few words back in university days and no one developed a close friendship with him.
Police said yesterday reports that the man suffered from long-term mental illness were incorrect.
However, it has emerged that the man made death threats against health officials.
The morning killing spree outside the gates of the Nanping Experimental Primary School in Fujian Province may have lasted just 55 seconds, but will cause many families a lifetime of grief.
The school offered counseling for students and staff when classes resumed yesterday after a 24-hour suspension.
Two of the injured were in a stable condition yesterday while the other three were in intensive care, said Liu Bin, an officer with Nanping's health bureau.
One had a high fever, serious lung injuries and circulation problems, said Chen Xiaojie, vice president of the No.1 Hospital of Nanping.
Teachers distributed chrysanthemums at the school gates yesterday as more than 2,000 students mourned the lost of their fellow pupils.
Most pupils were escorted to school by their parents. "It's the first time in four years that I have taken my son to school and I will keep doing so," the father of an 11-year-old boy told Xinhua news agency.
The alleged killer, Zheng Mingsheng, 42, was arrested at the scene. He was a doctor at a community hospital in Nanping before he quit last June, according to Huang Zhongping, a police spokesman.
Witnesses said they heard Zheng shouting "they make me crazy, I will kill you all!" before he attacked.
Two nurses who worked with Zheng said he never showed any symptoms of mental illness during the eight years he was employed by the community hospital.
One of his old patients said Zheng was always her first choice at the hospital when anyone in her family was sick "because he was kind and gave cheap prescriptions."
One of Zheng's neighbors concurred. "He was quite a sweet guy," the neighbor told China Youth Daily.
"Children living in the community all liked him and he always bought them snacks."
However, the neighbor said Zheng "started to act weird" about a year ago after he quit his job and his girlfriend left him - setbacks that apparently set his nerves on edge.
Zheng still lived with his mother and never married, the neighbor said.
He reportedly failed many times in his quest to find another job after resigning from the community hospital following numerous disagreements with his boss.
Zheng allegedly threatened to kill leaders of the local health authority because they would not allow him to open a private clinic.
Former classmates said Zheng was a man of few words back in university days and no one developed a close friendship with him.
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