Manitoba Review Board Declares Bus Passenger Beheader A Significant Risk To Society

September 21, 2009 6:58 a.m. EST

Winnipeg, Manitoba (AHN) - The Manitoba Health Review Board justified the continued detention of Vince Li because he is a significant risk to society. Li was the passenger of a Greyhound bus who decapitated fellow passenger Tim McLean in full view of other passengers last summer while the bus was near Portage la Prairie.

The board made public its decision on Li's case on Thursday. Although a judge declared Li not criminally liable for McLean's death because of Li's untreated schizophrenia, the judge referred the case further to the review board which decided if Li should be released with conditions or detained in a mental health facility.

The board, which favored detention, initially did not publicize its decision because it might violate Li's privacy rights. However, McLean's family and other protested the review board's policy.

In the May hearing of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, the province's attorney general, Dave Chomiak, said the review board hearing will be made open to the public.

The review board said without a continued, close supervision through hospital detention, Li poses a significant risk to the public's safety and that neither an absolute discharge or conditional discharge would be proper.

The release of the board's decision comes at a time that counselors and researchers released a study that said mental health problems are rising among Canadian university students. The study estimated about 15 percent of university students will be diagnosed with a mental ailment while in school, but it may just be the tip of the iceberg because most of students who have problems with mental health do not seek professional help for various reasons, including fear of being ostracized.