Motive questioned in Dongxing murders

Local authorities in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Thursday denied the rumor that the reason two family planning officials were slashed to death was the forced abortion of the suspect's wife.

The suspect, a local villager surnamed He, also injured three officials and a lawyer in Tuesday's incident in Dongxing.

"The wife hasn't received a forced abortion," a press officer from the Dongxing Party Committee, surnamed He, confirmed to the Global Times, adding that the condition of all four injured is stable and the case is still under investigation.

The official explanation came after online rumors saying that the forced abortion of He's wife, who lives in Daqiao village, was the cause of the bloodshed. Some local villagers speculated that the real reason behind the conflict was He's repeated frustrations in applying for a hukou, or residence permit registry, for his 3-month-old daughter.

Villagers told the Beijing-based news portal people.com.cn Wednesday that He was retaliating against the local family planning bureau. "The man was promised by the bureau that his daughter can be registered with a hukou should his wife receive sterilization operations. However, frequent visits to the bureau during the three months after the sterilization still bore no fruit."

The Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday that the man came to the bureau for his daughter's hukou again on Monday, only to be asked to pay the social maintenance fee first, as the couple has violated family planning policies.

The next day, he told a cigarette shop owner in the village that he was going to kill someone before driving off on his motorcycle armed with a machete. The shop owner reported this to officials but a roadblock failed to stop He, the Guangzhou-based Nandu Daily reported.

After He was arrested Tuesday, his family submitted a copy of a document issued in 2010 saying that he suffers from mental illness.

A local police officer told the Beijing Times Wednesday that they await the results from He's mental health evaluation, adding that He will face criminal responsibility if his mental condition proved to be normal when he carried out the attacks.

An anonymous villager said Wednesday that He had mental disorders several years ago but had been cured.

A police officer told people.com.cn that He's mental situation was normal when he was caught.

"If the suspect suffers a mental breakdown when committing crimes, they won't face any criminal responsibility, according to China's criminal law," said Wang Sixin, a law professor with the Communication University of China.

He's family fled the village Tuesday night and no one knows their whereabouts, villagers said.