Is the suspect mentally ill?, A woman was thrown a brick from high altitude and hit by a deceased suspect | Wanda Plaza | Brick

Recently, near the night market snack street of Wanda Plaza in Hongqi Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, a woman was hit and passed away by a brick thrown from high altitude. According to the families of the victims and the police, the suspect has been arrested and the case is currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Chaoyang District, Changchun City.

The victim's family claimed that the suspect is a tenant of Wanda Plaza Apartment. Prior to the incident, items were dropped from high altitude multiple times, and the police are currently conducting a mental illness assessment on him. In addition, the family believes that the apartment property has not fulfilled its safety management responsibilities and will be held accountable.

The suspect has repeatedly thrown objects from high altitude

Suspected psychiatric patient

On July 12th, China News Service contacted Ms. Lou, the sister of the victim. Ms. Lou claimed that her sister is 28 years old this year. On June 22, she went from Beijing to Changchun to visit friends and moved into apartment 2 at Wanda Plaza. That night, while shopping at the Wanda Plaza night market, he was hit and killed by a brick thrown from high altitude. According to the cause of death appraisal provided by Ms. Lou, the appraisal opinion was that the death was caused by severe traumatic brain injury caused by blunt instrument hitting the head.

Ms. Lou learned from the police that the suspect is a man in his twenties from Jiangxi, who is a tenant in the Wanda Plaza apartment where the incident occurred. On the evening of June 22nd from 9pm to 10pm, this man threw bricks down from the 33rd floor rooftop.

Afterwards, Ms. Lou learned from multiple sources that before her sister was killed, the suspect had repeatedly thrown beverage bottles, bricks, and other items down from the high-rise of the apartment where she lived. According to Ms. Lou, on June 17th, the suspect threw buckets and unopened cans of soda from high altitude twice, one of which hit a young woman. Ms. Lou said that the woman subsequently reported to the police, but for some reason, the police did not investigate the suspect until her sister had an accident.

Ms. Lou told China News Agency that after the incident, the aforementioned woman had found her and confirmed with the police that it was the same person. She also learned that on the evening of June 22nd from 9pm to 10pm, about an hour before her sister's accident, the suspect threw objects down twice from high altitude.

At present, the suspect has been arrested by the police and his family has applied for a psychiatric assessment, but the results have not yet been released. China News Network contacted the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Chaoyang District, Changchun City, which is currently investigating this case, to inquire about the progress of the case, but did not receive a clear response.

"At that time, the police contacted his family several times, but they all expressed indifference. Later, they presented a previous mental illness certificate and requested a mental illness assessment. But I didn't see it, it was the police who said it." Ms. Lou told China News Network that the suspect's family has not contacted her so far.

Chaotic management of the apartment where the incident occurred

Stacking bricks and tiles in the hallway

Ms. Lou is puzzled by why the property and community have not taken corresponding management measures despite multiple incidents of high-altitude littering in the apartment, which have already been reported to the police.

Ms. Lou said that after the incident, she went to the apartment to investigate and found that there were many bricks, tiles, and other items piled up in the corridor above the 30th floor of the apartment. She also asked the property manager why the bricks, tiles, and flower pots in the corridor were not cleaned up in a timely manner, so that the perpetrator could easily pick up a dangerous item? Why was the suspect not detected through surveillance in a timely manner after someone reported a high-altitude littering incident in the past few times? The other party's response to this is that the items were all decorated and placed by the residents, and the property management is not responsible, and it is recommended to take legal measures.

Ms. Lou learned from the police that on June 22nd, the suspect climbed onto the rooftop of the 33rd floor multiple times. "At first, the property manager said that the rooftop of the 33rd floor was a fire escape and could not be closed, but now two locks have been added. They have control over whether this door should be locked or not. If the rooftop falls from 9-10 pm on the 22nd, they should take action, especially since there are surveillance cameras on every floor. This cannot be an excuse for inaction."

On July 12th, China News Service called Yan'an Community, Hongqi Street, Chaoyang District, Changchun City, where the apartment was located. The operator stated that the case has been handed over to the public security department for investigation and it is inconvenient to be interviewed. Regarding whether it was previously known that someone had thrown objects multiple times and had already reported to the police, the other party said, "We have done all the work that needs to be done. The specific results will be announced by the police." In addition, the Hongqi Street side has not responded to this.

"Why not prevent it? This is why my sister sacrificed herself to remind everyone. If it weren't for my sister being injured at the time, I don't know how many people would have been injured. But the cost of my sister's sacrifice is too high." Ms. Lou believes that after multiple incidents of high-altitude littering in a short period of time, the property management did not fulfill its obligation to prevent and remind, and she will hold the property management responsible for this.

Lawyer: High altitude throwing or suspected of multiple charges

Property management and other personnel should be held responsible

Lan Tianbin, Senior Partner of Jiangsu Fade Dongheng Law Firm, introduced to China News Network that according to the Criminal Law, those who throw objects from buildings or other heights, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, detention or public surveillance, and shall also or only be fined. If the act mentioned in the preceding paragraph constitutes other crimes, the offender shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the heavier punishment.

"In other words, high-altitude littering may be suspected of multiple charges, which need to be judged based on the behavior, consequences, and social danger. In addition to high-altitude littering, it may also be suspected of intentional homicide, intentional injury, negligent death, serious injury, and endangering public safety through dangerous methods. If it constitutes multiple charges at the same time, one of the serious crimes will be punished," said Lan Tianbin.

Lan Tianbin also stated that property service companies and other building managers should take necessary safety measures to prevent the occurrence of high-altitude littering; Those who have not taken necessary security measures shall bear the tort liability for failure to fulfill their security obligations in accordance with the law. In other words, the property management also has the obligation to remind and investigate high-altitude littering. If they fail to fulfill their safety protection obligations, they must also bear corresponding responsibilities.

Legal experts:

Mental patients may not necessarily be exempt from criminal responsibility

Professor Ruan Qilin from China University of Political Science and Law introduced to China News Network that mental patients may not necessarily be criminally irresponsible for their actions. According to legal regulations, the identification of mental patients has medical and psychological standards, which can be divided into mental patients who have completely lost their ability to recognize and control, and mental patients who have not completely lost their ability to recognize and control.

Ruan Qilin stated that mentally ill individuals who have completely lost their ability to identify and control their behavior and cause harmful consequences must meet two conditions for not being criminally responsible: first, mental illness; second, individuals who have completely lost their ability to identify and control their actions, that is, they are completely unable to distinguish right from wrong, and cannot identify what this fact itself is.

"Another type is mental patients who have not completely lost their ability to identify and control, and who cause harm to society, also bear criminal responsibility, but can be given lighter or mitigated punishment. This type of patient is called a patient with limited criminal responsibility."

Ruan Qilin introduced that there are two possibilities for psychiatric identification. One is that there is no criminal liability capacity at all, and in this case, there is no criminal responsibility for the consequences, but relevant civil liability must be borne. Another approach is to limit criminal liability, in which one still has to bear criminal responsibility for their actions, but the punishment can be mitigated or mitigated.