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Elizabeth Cheung

Having separate guidelines on how to deal with conflicts involving mentally ill people would help Hong Kong police respond more appropriately, a government mental health adviser has said after a recent controversy over an officer who shot dead a schizophrenia patient.
Clinical psychologist Amos Cheung Chuen-yih, a member of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, offered his suggestion on Tuesday after the patient’s widow complained about how the force had handled her husband’s violent behaviour earlier this month, calling its actions “unacceptable”.
“If there is a separate guideline, frontline police officers will be able to know how to respond more appropriately,” Cheung told a radio show.
Cheung, who is also vice-president of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, said law enforcement officers could expect to handle a growing number of cases involving mentally ill patients, given the rise of people with such conditions in recent years.
“There could be more cases involving clashes with family that require police attention,” he said.
The controversial incident happened on September 15, when police responded to a call from a woman, 41, who said her husband was assaulting her and his 68-year-old mother at their rooftop flat on Kam Ping Street in North Point.
Officers wielding shields arrived at the scene and found the man, a 38-year-old with a history of mental illness, holding a 30cm-long (12 inches) knife and a pair of scissors. Police said they confronted him and told him to put his weapons down.
Despite repeated warnings, the man lashed out and attempted to attack one of the officers, according to the force.
Police said one officer had “no choice” but to shoot at the man from a distance of about 1.5 metres (5 feet), hitting him in the chest after he failed to heed repeated verbal warnings.
The man was taken to hospital, where he later died.

His widow said on Sunday that attending officers could have negotiated with her husband or talked him down from his emotional state.
She said she had not expected them to shoot him dead and regretted calling for police assistance.
Cheung said the proposed guidelines could include reminders on how to deal with mentally ill people, such as instructing officers to inquire more about a suspect’s medical history when responding to an emergency call.
Officers at the scene would then be more prepared with the necessary manpower deployment, he added.
Cheung said police might also require dedicated training on basic mental health issues and ways of responding to those who suffered from them.
He said the force could arrange for a number of officers in each district to receive the training – a more practical approach than targeting every officer.
Responding to a suggestion that medical professionals be made available in situations of conflict with mentally ill patients, Cheung said such an arrangement would be “ideal”.
“With psychiatric nurses or doctors at the scene, their decisions could be different. Patients could also feel less intimidated,” he said.
On Monday, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee defended the decision of the officer who had shot the schizophrenic suspect, saying the policeman had complied with the force’s internal guidelines on firearms use.
Lam Chi-wai, chairman of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, also defended his colleague in the North Point case, saying standards for using force was the same for all people.
“We were not just handling a mentally ill patient, but a patient who had committed a serious violent crime,” Lam said.
He said the force often had to deal with people with mental health conditions in their daily work, such as handling those who refused to attend medical appointments or were behaving abnormally, and the current guidelines and training were already enough.
“We have to exercise restraint, patience and tolerance … we also need to listen to what [the mentally ill patients] said,” Lam added.
Police officers would also try to contact patients’ social workers or healthcare professionals if necessary, he said.
He added that officers usually did not have enough time to involve psychiatric professionals in conflict cases when they had to respond to emergency calls quickly.


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Hong Kong police

The widow of the mentally ill man, surnamed Li, said she regretted calling police after they shot her husband dead in response to her emergency call. Photo: Handout 

Kam Ping Mansion at Kam Ping Street in North Point, where the 38-year-old schizophrenia patient was shot dead by police on September 15. Photo: Jelly Tse

The man’s widow and brother formally complained about the shooting on Sunday. Photo: Handout

Police chief Raymond Siu. Photo:  May Tse

The deceased’s widow (right) spoke to reporters outside police headquarters after filing a formal complaint. Photo: Handout

Police last Sunday responded to a report from a woman saying her husband was assaulting her and the man’s 68-year-old mother at their rooftop flat on Kam Ping Street, North Point. Photo: Jelly Tse

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Hong Kong

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Mental health advisory committee member says force can expect more cases involving mentally ill people, suggests dedicated training


Mental health advisory committee member says force can expect more cases involving mentally ill people, suggests dedicated training.


Hong Kong society

Mental health