Deputy director of the bureau, Li Yingdong, told reporters what the public did not know about Guo was his misbehavior of slandering the county's leaders in the 1990s.

Guo kept harassing the county's senior officials by sending letters, telegraphs, petitions and ultimatums, and threatening arson or murder should those officials not be sacked, Li said.

In 1996, the Public Security Bureau of Zhuxi County summoned and questioned Guo, and found nearly 300 petition letters and telegraphs at his home and office.

Police decided that Guo developed mental problems after he was divorced in 1994.

Also, psychiatric expert testimony verified the judgment, concluding that Guo suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was not responsible for his own behavior.

In November 1996, Guo was sent by the public security bureau to the mental hospital to receive compulsory treatment.

During the years between 1997 and 1998, Guo was discharged from the hospital twice but sent back again as he continued slandering others.

Guo's younger sister, Guo Qiaoyun, confessed that she could not understand her brother and described his behavior as "inconceivable".

Guo said it was wrong for the government to confine him in a mental hospital, but Li Yingdong insisted that the decision was made in strict accordance with the law.

The 18th article of China's Criminal Law reads: "A mentally ill person who causes dangerous consequences at a time when he is unable to recognize or unable to control his own conduct is not to bear criminal responsibility after being established through accreditation of legal procedures...When necessary, he will be given compulsory medical treatment by the government."

MADE-UP DAUGHTER

Further, Guo Hanyun, the so-called "daughter" of Guo Yuanrong, proved to be a made-up figure aimed at attracting public attention with dramatic words.

Yuan Baoquan and Chen Yonggang, two netizens from the Shiyan city, were the real authors behind the entire story.

Chen was detained for eight days in February last year for allegedly defaming a government official in Yunxi County.

Peng, himself, was held in the same mental hospital in April last year for taking part in petition activities.

Peng was discharged five days later, after his case was exposed on the Internet.

During his short stay in the hospital, Peng met with Guo and thought he, like himself, was a normal man who was victimized.