On February 6th, a police car in Pingjiang County, Yueyang City, Hunan Province, crashed into three vehicles and the driver fled the scene. Local officials gave vague responses afterwards, with staff from the Discipline Inspection Commission stating that police officers took a mentally ill patient to the hospital for evaluation, and another mentally ill patient caused the accident. The Public Security Bureau claimed that traffic police escorted a suspected criminal for a check-up at the hospital, and the patient seeking treatment at the hospital was responsible for the accident. This incident has reignited attention on the issue of “being labelled as mentally ill” in the case of Li Yixue in Jiangxi.
According to mainland media JiMu News on February 8th, a video circulated online showing a police car in Pingjiang County, Yueyang City, Hunan Province crashing into three vehicles, after which the driver fled the scene. The video captured someone saying, “A police car crashed into three cars, causing a tire blowout. The driver then got out of the passenger’s side and ran away. No one was injured at the scene.” The vehicle involved had a license plate marked with the word “police.”
The media reached out to the Pingjiang County Traffic Police Brigade and the Pingjiang County Public Security Bureau for comment but has not received a response. Officials from the Pingjiang County Public Security Bureau mentioned that the matter is under investigation.
On the morning of February 8th, Pingjiang County officials stated that both the police and the Discipline Inspection Commission are investigating the incident, with provincial and municipal authorities also involved.
As reported, staff from the Pingjiang County Discipline Inspection Commission Office stated that on the 7th, several of their employees had been involved in investigating the matter, obtaining surveillance videos from the roads, hospitals, and the police car’s recorder. Preliminary findings suggested that two police officers took mentally ill patients to the hospital for evaluation, and upon arrival at the hospital, they left the vehicle with the engine running and the key inserted. During this time, another mentally ill patient saw the key in the car and drove away. The details are subject to the official conclusion.
However, when the media contacted the Pingjiang County Propaganda Department regarding the above statement from the Discipline Inspection Commission, the staff were unable to verify the information at this time.
According to a report by The Paper, on February 8th, the Pingjiang County Public Security Bureau announced that around noon on February 6th, two personnel from the Traffic Police Brigade drove a police car with license plate number Xiang F068T to the county hospital to inspect a suspect of traffic violations and crimes. They parked the police car in front of the hospital without locking the door. Ai Moulin (male, 31 years old, from Pingjiang County), who was visiting the hospital, noticed the unlocked car door and drove the police car away. In the process, he collided with three private cars, causing minor injuries to two people. Ai Moulin has now been brought to justice.
It is noteworthy that the responses provided by the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Public Security Bureau differ. The former claims that a police officer took a mentally ill patient to the hospital for evaluation, while another mentally ill patient drove the vehicle away. The latter states that traffic police escorted a suspect of traffic violations for inspection, and a patient seeking treatment at the hospital drove the car away without mentioning the person’s mental health status.
In response to this, many mainland netizens mocked the situation, with some doubting the credibility of the story, considering it fictional.
Prior to this, since the end of last year, the incident involving Li Yixue in Jiangxi Province being “labelled as mentally ill” had sparked controversy. Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, psychiatric hospitals have been exposed as black prisons for the arbitrary detention of citizens by public security, prompting widespread attention online. Following the incident being controlled before the Chinese New Year, there has been no further information available.
(Previously reported: Li Yixue’s Father accuses Jiangxi Officials of Falsifying Reports, Lawyers Analyze the Situation)