After two ladies were fatally stabbed in a rash attack by a man who, according to sources, was just days away from an appointment at a public clinic to treat his schizophrenia, Hong Kong’s leader promised to investigate the city’s mental health facilities.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-Chiu expressed his sympathies to the relatives of the victims on Saturday and then listed four more actions that would be taken by punished authorities in the fields of services, health, and welfare. He also emphasized that this incident was an “individual case” and emphasized that the incident was an “individual case.”
“The Health Bureau and Hospital Authority will review the treatment and rehabilitation procedures of public psychiatric services,” he declared. The bureau will also collaborate with the Advisory Committee on Mental Health to investigate how to comprehensively improve people’s mental health.
He continued by saying that the 24 integrated community centers in the city would receive better mental health services from the Social Welfare Department. Lee emphasized that the occurrence was an “individual case” and that the city was still quite safe. He also added that police would increase patrols in densely populated areas.
Additionally, he advised locals to refrain from posting any alarming video they may have seen of the attack.
When asked if the city should stop hosting promotional events for the “Happy Hong Kong” campaign, Lee responded that doing so would be detrimental to the mental health of its citizens. Online security camera footage depicts the man approaching the two women from behind at the Plaza Hollywood shopping center in Diamond Hill soon after 5 p.m. on Friday.
Stabbing one of them more than 25 times with a 30cm (12-inch) knife during an attack that lasted over a minute. Her friend attempted to step in, but the attacker kept stabbing her.
An adjacent restaurant’s chef grabbed two seats after hearing screaming and approached the attacker. The chef struck the man, saying the impact left him appearing “shocked,” in an effort to dissuade him from harming anyone else. A few minutes later, armed with shields, police officers arrived and tackled the attacker. The two ladies, friends who were 22 and 26 years old, were carried to United Christian Hospital unconscious and pronounced dead an hour later, according to the police.
According to a source, they had birthday party plans for that evening.
According to police, a preliminary inquiry revealed “no concrete evidence” that they were connected to the attacker.
The victims were residents of Tai Po’s Lung Mei Tsuen, where in February model Abby Choi Tin-fung was horrifically murdered in a three-story village house and mutilated. In the ground floor unit of the property, the police discovered Choi’s cranium, legs, and a few fractured ribs.
The Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau cautioned the public not to stigmatize mental health patients in light of the attack while speaking at the same media briefing as the mayor.
“I hope that the general public will not label people with mental health needs and will continue to support and encourage them to seek treatment and help, so their health can recover,” he added. He also expressed gratitude to those who attempted to revive the victims.
The public was asked to support those with mental diseases by the Advisory Committee on Mental Health. It referred to the tragedy as an isolated incident and urged the public not to overreact with dread against those who have mental health problems.
His father informed the reporters that although his son was “very normal,” the day before the incident, he had been mentally unstable. He claimed that the family had previously been happy and was currently going through a challenging moment.
People with schizophrenia frequently experience symptoms including delusion and auditory hallucinations, according to psychiatrist Dr. May Lam Mei-ling, founder and president of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association. These symptoms necessitate long-term treatment to keep the illness under control.
However, she noted that assaults on strangers were “rare”. Patients were more likely to target someone they knew, Lam added, even though they might be more violent if they had personality disorders or substance abuse issues. According to psychiatrist Dr. Ivan Mak Wing-chit, it is “extremely rare” for those with serious mental illness to attack others without provocation. The stabbing served as a reminder of how crucial it is to have enough resources available to aid in the recovery of mentally ill individuals, he said.
In light of the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent rise in the prevalence of common mental illnesses, Mak observed, “We need to face the issue that the demand for psychiatric manpower has increased.”
The government will have to carefully choose how to allocate resources for mental care given the scarcity, he continued.
Dr. David Lam Tzit-yuen, a lawmaker who represents the medical and health services industry, suggested that the government create a primary care network of psychiatrists that locals could easily access.
“Contacting a psychologist might occasionally be difficult for a family physician. I have no idea where to look for them,” he admitted. “There should be a network in the community where there are [professionals] [including] clinical psychologists and family doctors.”Tik Chi-yuen, a lawmaker for the welfare sector, urged the government to enhance its system for tracking individual psychiatric cases.
“There are several shortcomings, whether it be in daycare, residential care, or counseling services. Numerous cases are not being carefully followed up on, according to Tik. “It’s time for us to think about how we can make our services even better,”
According to the Social Welfare Department, medical social workers had been monitoring the suspect’s case because he had been going to his appointments and getting treatment on a regular basis.
The department stated that it had spoken to the relatives of the suspect and the two victims and was “highly concerned” about the killings. According to the report, a mobile service desk staffed with professional psychologists was set up close to one of the shopping center’s entrances to provide assistance to anyone experiencing mental distress as a result of the occurrence.
