The 14 children and three teachers injured in Wednesday's
kindergarten's attack are now stabilized and out of danger,
officials at the No 1 Hospital affiliated with Peking University
said yesterday.
The mother's and infant's section of the hospital, which had
been sealed by security guards on Wednesday, was reopened to the
public yesterday.
Since most of the children's wounds were to their heads and
necks, they are still being cared for in special wards out of fear
of infection, said a hospital official.
A knife-wielding gatekeeper at a kindergarten at the hospital
slashed 15 young children with a kitchen knife Wednesday morning,
killing one child and injuring three teachers before he was subdued
by police.
Officials said yesterday the dead child was a 4-year old boy. A
2-year-old is the youngest victim and the oldest is about 6.
"It is not only physical pain," said Hong Baose, a psychological
expert specializing in children at the Beijing Tongren Hospital.
"It is a great mental anguish to young innocent children, too."
She said parents of the children holding up well and exhibiting
"good psychology" could greatly reduce the negative impacts of the
tragedy on the children.
"Do not show any fear or anxiety in front of the children," Hong
advised. The parents and the kindergarten teachers have to be
confident, or at least pretend to be capable of handling the
situation, she said.
She counseled being careful and not letting the feelings of the
children affect others, she said.
"Distract their attention if the children are found talking
about the incident with each other," Hong added.
Though a witness to the grisly attack said he was surprised that
the injured children were not crying when they were being readied
for transport to hospital, Hong said it was a natural response for
human beings in great shock.
Hong said she hopes the parents, the friends and neighborhood
residents of the injured kids try their best not to talk about the
incident when the victims are around.
The suspect, Xu Heping, 52, is now in police custody.
Though he had a medical record of mental disease before the
slashing, it may not mean he will escape criminal liability for his
actions, said a law expert.
Zhang Wen, a law professor at Peking University, said a
judicatory mental check-up is needed as soon as possible.
If judges are convinced Xu was insane, he added, Xu would be
sent to a special hospital to receive medical treatment and
supervision.
But if the check-up showed no signs of Xu being delusional or
insane within hours of his crime, he would be tried to face charges
and a just penalty, if convicted.
Xu had been working as a temporary gatekeeper for two years. He
was introduced to officials there by his wife, who works at the
hospital.
(China Daily August 6, 2004)
