TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Residents of Pingtung County are demanding action after a man diagnosed with schizophrenia gouged a convenience store clerk's eyes when she reminded him to wear his face mask properly.
On Sept. 26, a 50-year-old man surnamed Yang (楊) barged into a convenience store in Pingtung County's Gaoshu Township with his face mask below his nose. When the 29-year-old clerk on duty asked him to pull up his face mask, Yang was instantly enraged, rushed to the counter, and began to savagely beat the woman.
In a video of the incident first released by Breaking News Commune, Yang can be seen running behind the counter and putting the woman in a headlock. He then pins her down and begins to mercilessly gouge her eyes.
The brutal assault lasted for about two and a half minutes before another customer entered the store and came to her aid. When police arrived on the scene they put Yang in handcuffs and took him to the police station for questioning.
After his family members arrived, he was escorted by police to Ping An Psychiatric Hospital, where his relatives expressed their wish that he should undergo treatment.
The woman suffered a detached retina in one eye, lacerations to her other eye, and a broken nose. Doctors fear she will completely lose vision in the more seriously damaged eye.
Yang puts clerk in headlock and tries to gouge her eyes. (Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshot)
After the assault, netizens flooded Pintung Magistrate Pan Meng-an's (潘孟安) Facebook page to express their dissatisfaction and demand justice for the victim. Pan responded by stating: "This incident is a serious lesson because the suspect has harmed others many times. I have asked the hospital to evaluate this case very carefully and to deal with it by implementing long-term admission."
According to a report by ETtoday, Yang first experienced psychological problems 10 years ago and was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. He has been frequently sent to psychiatric facilities for treatment since then. When he underwent treatment, he would take his prescribed medication, but would reportedly stop taking it after he was released.
Last month, Yang reportedly assaulted an elderly breakfast store owner with a knife for not properly cooking steamed buns. The woman suffered lacerations to her neck and stomach from the assault.
Woman's eyes bruised and swollen. (Facebook, Breaking News Commune image)
The Mental Health Act (精神衛生法) states that patients can face mandatory hospitalization for up to 60 days. If a court hands down a felony conviction, it can order up to five years of mandatory psychiatric treatment.
Lin Keng-hsin (林耕新), director of Dr. Lin's Healing Clinic emphasized to the news site that, "In psychiatric treatment programs, no one can keep the patient in the hospital forever." He said that during the treatment period, if the patient's condition improves and stabilizes, their personal freedom must be respected.
After the patient is discharged, Lin said that there is no way to force them to make return visits or regularly take their medication. However, Lin said that if the patient's symptoms return and directly affect others or endanger the community, they must be evaluated again before being admitted to the hospital for treatment.
As for criminal cases, Lin said legal responsibility will be determined by the court.
Warning: The following is a disturbing video of the assault.