Prevention of homicide involving people with mental illness

The perpetrator committed the crime against his relatives.

The peaceful days of June in the countryside of Hung Tan and Hung My communes (Hung Nguyen) suddenly became turbulent when a horrific murder occurred in the area, causing the tragic death of a 7-year-old child. It is worth mentioning that the suspected perpetrator of the child's death was none other than the child's biological mother.

Accordingly, at dawn on May 8, when Mr. H., the North-South train operator, was operating the train on the railway through Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen), he discovered someone lying under the railway. Immediately, Mr. H. stopped the train, then got off to check and was surprised to see a woman holding a child running out of the railway.

At noon on May 8, the leader of Hung Tan commune said that the woman who carried her child's body onto the railway that Mr. H. encountered lived in Hung Tan commune. After discovering the mother carrying her child and running away, the people chased and held the woman. However, when checking the child that the mother left behind in the bushes, the child was dead. There were still many blood stains on the motorbike that the woman left behind at the scene.

The scene where the mother held her child's body in Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Nguyen Phan

Previously, at 11:30 am on April 13, D. (studying at Tan Ky High School) came home from school in Doi Cung hamlet, Ky Son commune (Tan Ky) and saw her mother, Nguyen Thi Dai (born in 1976), lying face down under the bed and already dead.deathin a pool of blood. Going out to the yard, he saw his father, Thai Ba Tam (born 1973), dead in the well. There were many blood stains around the well. After that, the child panicked and ran to inform the neighbors. Relatives of the victim said that Thai Ba Tan had shown signs of mental illness many times before. Right before the heartbreaking murder, Tan's wife, Nguyen Thi Dai, called her relatives to express her concern about her husband's worsening mental illness, and planned to take her husband to the hospital for a check-up. But before Dai could do so, the heartbreaking incident happened.

In late April - early May 2021, 5 serious crimes occurred in the province, causing many deaths. Notably, one of the defendants showed signs of mental abnormality. Therefore, the handling must be done carefully, not hastily, and especially the details related to the psychiatric assessment of the defendants. The assessment must be done carefully in accordance with the provisions of the law to avoid wrongful convictions and letting criminals escape.Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai - Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Police.

Recent serious crimes that have resulted in many deaths show that,mental illnessMental illness in humans is one of the causes leading to criminal acts. Therefore, the community as well as each citizen need to improve their knowledge and understanding of mental illness, thereby having timely preventive and intervention measures to help avoid unfortunate consequences.

According to Specialist II, Deputy Director of Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital Nguyen Canh Hung, there are many different groups of mental illnesses in humans. However, 2 groups of mental illnesses have a high risk of leading to uncontrolled behavior, even committing crimes, murder or suicide if they are infected. These are people with schizophrenia and paranoid disorders. In which, the schizophrenia group is often caused by endogenous factors, which can be genetic, or the human body is normally normal but suddenly affected by another factor that affects the mind, changing out of control. As for the paranoid group, it is often caused by the impact of the surrounding living environment and activities, or by the use of stimulants that have a negative impact on the human nervous system.

For example, the case related to the murder that occurred in Tan Ky district that resulted in the death of a husband and wife. According to information from the media and the police, the husband had previously shown signs of mental illness, often screaming, smashing things, and running around the garden. This is a manifestation of the form ofschizophrenia. Before the murder of which she was the victim, the wife called her family to inform them of her intention to take her husband for treatment. If the husband had been taken for treatment earlier, perhaps the heartbreaking incident that resulted in the death of two people would not have happened.

Currently, Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital is treating more than 270 severely mentally ill patients, mainly schizophrenic patients (accounting for more than 50%). However, this is only a small number compared to the number of more than 10,000 mentally ill people being treated at medical facilities and at home. Among them, more than 8,000 people have schizophrenia.

Therefore, Dr. Nguyen Canh Hung warns that it is important for family members to clearly understand the symptoms of mental illness in their loved ones, so that they can take early treatment measures and prevent unfortunate consequences. Usually, the symptoms of schizophrenia often start with small signs, showing abnormalities in people's daily life and activities.

For example, the condition of little sleep and insomnia occurs more and more frequently and becomes more serious. The patient often moves around a lot and unintentionally, daily activities decrease, and gradually loses self-control. If the person is still working, the level and frequency of not completing work increases. Another important sign to recognize in people with mental illness is the fear of contact and communication, even with family members. In more severe cases, there will be manifestations of irritability, opposition or proactive attack if there is any impact or request from others.

One of thereasonCommon causes of mental illness are the use of addictive substances, alcohol, beer or due to spontaneous endogenous diseases; or due to intellectual and physical underdevelopment. Another cause is nervous tension arising from impacts in life and work that are not released early, leading to psychological shock and depression.

Doctor Nguyen Canh Hung emphasized that it is entirely possible for a mentally ill person to commit acts that cause harm and endanger the life of themselves and those around them. Therefore, when a family member shows signs of illness, relatives should not use psychological measures or rely on love to treat or comfort them, but must persuade or force them to go to a specialized medical facility for treatment, to avoid unfortunate consequences like many cases that have led to murder in recent times./.