"This is too evil… That's when we need the male driver," a user posted, mentioning the man in the controversial fight who beat up a female driver over abrupt lane changes.

"Where can we see the humanity in the two passers-by?" another user commented, "I wish someday they face the same indifference."

The netizens' anger was not quelled when local police announced that the attacker actually suffered from a mental disorder.

"Mental issues are not the excuse for every crime," said a micro blogger, "We need to punish those who hurt others."

"Mental patients should be treated in hospitals instead of living with normal people," said another, "Our country should pay more attention to vulnerable groups."

The punishment for those with mental health issues depends on whether the person had the capacity to be responsible for his actions at the time of the incident, Beijing News said by quoting Xu Rong, a Beijing-based lawyer.

According to the China's Criminal Law, mental patients don't bear the criminal responsibility if they cannot identify or control their actions when causing harmful consequences, the newspaper said.

There are more than 100 million people suffering from mental illness in China last year, with 72.3 percent having no awareness of these illnesses, CCTV said in its official Weibo account.