Parents make appeal for mentally ill daughter

A family has plead their appeal case to an Anhui Province court, seeking 1.9 million yuan ($310,460) from a university that the parents blame for causing their daughter's schizophrenia 10 years ago when the school accused her of cheating, the Beiing-based Legal Mirror reported Tuesday.

The case comes after the father, surnamed Yin, dismissed the previous ruling in which the court ruled Anhui Agricultural University (AHAU) to pay just 200,000 yuan. The school had also filed for appeal, unwilling to pay the compensation.

The unnamed student, now 34, who has been in the care of her family since failing to complete school in 2003, when she was diagnosed with the mental disorder, turned "crazy" after AHAU wrongly punished her for cheating, said Yin.

"She went mad after the school posted notice of her cheating and her failing grade on the bulletin board on campus," said Yin.

But the school said that she was seen exchanging papers with another student. AHAU argued that her penalty was just, adding that the student's condition was unrelated to the incident.

AHAU's lawyer added that the student's condition was more likely brought on by other factors, such as her inability to handle academic pressure and her weak psychological endurance.

But Yin said his daughter was normal before.

"She was never able to escape the humiliation of being wrongly punished since 2003, and her condition saw no improvement even after repeated medical treatment," he said.

The verdict has yet to be announced.

Legal Mirror