A man in Zhuhai who killed his father in a fit of rage on November 18 last year will be given psychiatric treament instead of being thrown in jail after new mental health laws were passed last October, Sina News reports.

Mr. Xing, 37, a blue collar worker in Zhuhai’s Doumen District, beat his father to death with a metal pipe at around 6 a.m. after the father had made some casual remarks that angered Xing. He later died in hospital. Although the beating was severe enough to leave the father’s head disfigured, Doumen Public Security Bureau did not succeed in their initial attempts to have him convicted of murder.

In January this year, Foshan No. 3 People’s Hospital diagnosed Xing with schizophrenia. Under the new laws, which were approved by The Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress after World Mental Health Day in October, Xing will receive a lighter sentence as well as psychiatric treatment.

China only has about 20,000 registered psychiatrists, or 15 psychiatrists for every one million sufferers. The number of mental health institutions and doctors lags far behind the need, according to Xinhua.