又中又英｜A deranged person

When news broke that a deranged man had knifed two young women to death in a Diamond Hill shopping mall, my first instinct as a journalist was to watch social media videos of the stabbing. But after reading about the gruesome way the women were killed, I decided not to watch. I am no longer a frontline reporter and did not want to recoil in horror from watching two innocent people being killed. Just reading about the gruesome murder already made me recoil in horror. A deranged person is a crazy or mentally ill person. The word “gruesome” means extremely unpleasant or shocking. To recoil in horror means to move back because of disgust or fear.
Some reports said the man had schizophrenia. He was just four days away from an appointment with a government doctor to manage his illness. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder with symptoms that include delusions and trouble with thinking. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has promised to re-examine Hong Kong’s mental health services but critics say such services have been inadequate for a long time. Hong Kong University professor Terry Lum Yat-sang said Hong Kong has a serious shortage of psychiatrists. Critics say previous governments had promised to review mental health services, yet the Diamond Hill knifing still happened.
It is good that Lee Ka-chiu has promised to review mental health services, but actions speak louder than words. This means what you do is more important and proves your intentions more clearly than what you say. It is impossible to completely prevent violent attacks by mentally ill people but improving mental health services could prevent most attacks.

當有新聞爆出，在鑽石山商場內一名瘋狂的（deranged）男人持刀殺死兩名年輕女子時，我身為新聞工作者的第一個本能，是上社交媒體去看持刀傷人的影片。但當讀到兩女如何恐怖地（gruesome）被殺害時，我決定不去看了。我不再是前線記者，不想因為看到兩名無辜人士被殺而恐懼畏縮（recoil in horror）。單單讀到這宗可怕的（gruesome）殺人事件，已經令我相當畏懼（recoil in horror）。A deranged person就是瘋狂或是精神錯亂的人。Gruesome是指極為不安或恐怖的。To recoil in horror意即因為厭惡或害怕而後退、畏縮。
一些新聞報道指，那個男人有精神分裂症（schizophrenia）。距離他下一次覆診看公立醫生治療精神病，只差四天。Schizophrenia是很嚴重的精神病患，包括妄想和混亂思維等病徵。特首李家超承諾會重新檢視香港的精神健康服務，但批評者說這方面的服務長久不足。香港大學林一星教授指，香港嚴重缺乏精神科醫生。批評者說，以往多屆政府都曾承諾審視精神健康服務，然而鑽石山持刀殺人事件仍然發生。
李家超承諾會檢視精神健康服務，也是好的，但actions speak louder than words，意即行動勝於空談，你做甚麼比你說甚麼更為重要，亦更清楚地證明你的意圖。要完全防範精神病患者的暴力襲擊是不可能的，但改善精神健康服務可以防範大部分的襲擊發生。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻