Ontario Review Board
Re: Shou-Qiang Huang
ORB File No: 8278
Hearing held on: Thursday, June 26, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Weinstein
Members: Dr. L.E. Cappe Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Ms. M. den Haan Mr. A. Mete
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Shou-Qiang Huang Counsel: Mr. S. Lyon
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. K. Dow
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. D. Brandes
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated August 6, 2025)
Introduction:
On March 27, 2023, Mr. Shou-Qiang Huang was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm, both contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”).
Mr. Huang is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”), dated August 16, 2024, which orders that he be detained at the General Forensic Unit of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (“CAMH”).
On June 26, 2025, the Board convened a hearing at CAMH to conduct the annual review of the current Disposition.
Mr. Huang was present and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Stephen Lyon. A Mandarin interpreter was available on an as needed basis.
A Hospital Report, dated June 12, 2025 (the "Hospital Report"), was entered as Exhibit 1.
The issue at this hearing is whether Mr. Huang is a significant threat to public safety, as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code. If so, the necessary and appropriate Disposition in the circumstances must be determined, bearing in mind the factors enunciated in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
For the reasons set out below and based on the expert evidence and opinions before it, the Board concluded that Mr. Huang continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board also concluded that this risk can be managed with an Order, conditionally discharging him upon the terms set out in our formal Conditional Discharge Disposition.
Current Psychiatric Diagnosis:
- Delusional Disorder, persecutory type
Index Offences:
- The circumstances giving rise to the Index Offences are extracted from last year’s Board Reasons, as follows:
“On the late night of September 4th and into September 5, 2021, Mr. Huang and his wife, Ms. Chen, were talking in the kitchen of their home, when an argument between them culminated in his assaults on her with a chemical liquid and a knife, during which his daughter was also wounded by the knife.
Some time before, Mr. Huang had developed the unfounded beliefs that his wife was having an affair and was poisoning his food. In the aftermath of his unemployment and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, he became a 'survivalist', bent on protecting the family from coming global disasters. He began hoarding food and supplies, including many knives, in their apartment. His outlook on life became increasingly negative, he became increasingly agitated, and his family relationships became strained.
That night, Mr. Huang and his wife began to argue about money. He insisted she call her parents in China to pay back a debt, and she suggested they wait a few days, which angered him. He suddenly sprayed a liquid chemical in her eyes, which temporarily blinded her. He then took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her repeatedly. She fell to the floor, bleeding heavily and thinking she was going to die.
Their two daughters were awake in their bedroom, hearing the yelling and then their mother screaming. They ran to the kitchen. One called 911, while the other tried to protect their mother from their father. He would not put down the knife and would not let his daughter pass him to leave the locked room. He told his daughters their mother tried to poison him and he wanted to kill her, but would not hurt them.
Police arrived. Mr. Huang stabbed his wife further, in the head and back. In doing that, he cut his daughter’s left hand with the knife. Police forced the door open and arrested him. Mr. Huang was calm and complied with police instructions. His wife was hospitalized for sixteen days for surgery and ICU care to treat many serious wounds, and afterwards had ongoing pain and difficulty using stairs. His daughter suffered a significant wound to her hand.
At the police station that night, Mr. Huang gave police a bag that he had in his pocket, containing a brown powder, and told them his wife used it to try to poison his food and asked that it be tested."
Background Information:
- Mr. Huang’s background and history are outlined in the Hospital Report, and they are accurately summarized in last year’s Reasons:
“Mr. Huang was born and raised in China. With support from his extended family, he was able to attend school, where he did well. He completed a college degree in business, was employed with the national bank for ten years, and then left to pursue other positions. At that time, in 1998, he married Ms. Chen, who was an accountant, and they had two daughters. Working in sales with buyers in North America led to his decision to move to Canada for a better lifestyle. In 2004, he immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto. Two years later, he was able to sponsor his wife and their two little girls, who joined him in Toronto.
In Toronto, he had difficulty finding employment and had jobs that were not well-paid. Then, from 2006 to 2018, he worked in commercial trucking, as a long-haul driver to the United States. He was also employed in the United States at a repair service company. He was thus largely absent from home, and for some years he and his family only saw each other when his wife and daughters made their annual visit to him. He returned home to Toronto in 2018. His wife was working full time and she became the income earner for the family.
The three years following his return to Toronto in 2018 until the index offences in 2021 were very difficult for Mr. Huang and his family. He had few social supports, having been unable to maintain friendships, perhaps due to his work travel and his non-socializing nature. His relationships with his wife and daughters were strained. The only noted positive relationship that he enjoyed was his intermittent contact with his adopted brother in China.
Finances, children, and property were major sources of conflict and argument between Mr. Huang and his wife. At times he was bad-tempered, threw and broke things in the house, and on one occasion hit his wife. A daughter recalled an argument between her parents a few months before the index offences, when her father 'wanted to buy a house' and they got into 'a fight about finances', she heard 'stuff being broken' until her 'mom stopped him', and he punched her bedroom door with his fist, damaging it.
There were also conflicts about parenting and their daughters' education and career plans. He regretted that their relationships with him were not closer and he blamed both his wife and himself for not encouraging their talents and guiding them.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2019 reportedly had a direct and significant effect on Mr. Huang's mental health. He was increasingly distressed and distrustful of the outer world. He became a 'survivalist', focused on the need to prepare for coming global disasters, the nature of which were yet unknown to him. He took great pains to explain this to his family and was sad they did not share his thinking. His wife described him as being more 'paranoid' and 'believing the end of the world was coming very soon.' He stockpiled food and other supplies, including weapons, specifically knives; it was later found that he had stored two boxes of knives, some shovels, and an axe, many of these items hidden away.
During the same time, Mr. Huang grew suspicious that his wife was having an affair and also was poisoning his food and water. He felt that there were negative changes in her behaviour for which her explanations were not believable, and that the water tasted different and his food had been tampered with. These were new sources of conflict and argument between them. As well, Mr. Huang was preoccupied with many physical health concerns.
Mr. Huang did not appear to display any symptoms of psychosis other than the apparent persecutory delusions; no hallucinations, disorganization, significant functional decline, or somatic delusions have been noted.
It appeared from his wife's reports that Mr. Huang was, at his baseline, a generally nervous person who had always been prone to anxiety and struggled with his anger at home.
His immediate family had been concerned about his mental health and ability to cope or function in the community. Unfortunately, he had never been apprehended and admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act, and never seen a psychiatrist or received a formal diagnosis or any mental health care or treatment. He had, however, due to his frequent physical health concerns, sought medical advice at his family doctor's office.
He had no criminal record and no previous involvement with police.
At the time of the index offences, Mr. Huang was living in the family's small apartment in North York, with his wife and their two daughters, who were young adults engaged in university studies and having just graduated from college, respectively. At that time, he was unemployed and his wife was the sole income earner supporting the family.”
Course Since Last Disposition:
- Mr. Huang’s course since his last Disposition is set out in detail in the Hospital Report. The following extracted paragraphs are relevant to this hearing:
“Mr. Huang was discharged to Progress Place housing in August of 2024. Since that time, his care has been provided by Dr. A. Ali in FOPS. Mr. Huang has been compliant with appointments and medications. Mr. Huang requested to change his medication to Paliperidone Trinza every 12 weeks. This change was made in May of 2025 and he is now on 175 mg IM every 12 weeks. He remains on Sertraline 100 mg. There have been no other changes to medications.
Mr. Huang has not used substances during the year in review. He has not had any violent incidents and has not required re-hospitalization. His mental status has been at baseline and he has not endorsed any delusional thoughts.
Since his discharge, Mr. Huang has engaged in activities including volunteering at progress place in which is contributes to data entry, volunteering at Fort York Food Bank and attending outings in FOPS and the horse stables on occasions. He has also been searching for employment, but this has been on hold due to his back pain. Mr. Huang’s volunteering at the food back has been on hold since April 2025 due to back pain and advice from his family doctor.”
Position of the Parties:
Counsel for the hospital, the Attorney General and Mr. Huang advised that this was a joint submission: all were recommending that Mr. Huang be granted a Conditional Discharge, upon the terms set out in our formal Disposition.
For the purposes of this hearing, counsel for Mr. Huang advised that significant threat was not in dispute.
Evidence at the Hearing
- The Board had available to it the evidence and documents forming the Record, the Exhibits, and oral evidence from Dr. Ali. Dr. Ali testified as follows:
a) She has been Mr. Huang’s treating psychiatrist since his discharge into the community.
b) She adopts the contents of the Hospital Report.
c) The hospital was recommending a Conditional Discharge, as Mr. Huang has had a very positive reporting year.
d) When Mr. Huang was an inpatient at CAMH, he attended a number of activities and groups. His insight has improved enough that the hospital had no issue discharging him into independent living in the community. Mr. Huang is adherent with all his medications and attends his appointments.
e) The following paragraphs from last year's Reasons for Disposition are no longer concerning or applicable:
“With respect to Mr. Huang's partial insight into his diagnosis and medication, he agrees to keep taking his medication and that it helps with his mental stability, but does not agree he is at risk of relapse if he stops taking it. His insight into the index offence is a little bit more limited; while able to identify his delusions at that time, he described it recently as "a normal disagreement between spouses".
His insight has improved somewhat this year, in that he is able to identify his diagnosis, symptoms, and the treatments he is on. But it is still uncertain whether he will be able to appreciate his relapse and violence risks. Dr. Van added that it is important to note that, despite this, he has adhered to his medications all year, demonstrated his willingness to work with the team, and engaged in programs as a willing participate, which indicates he is trying to progress.
There is no question that a conditional discharge would be insufficient at this time, when Mr. Huang is making his transition to independent living in the community, and his medication change and other treatments are ongoing, the success of which is vital to his continued stability and safety and future success in the community. During this transition year, it will be necessary to maintain the hospital's close support and supervision of his approved accommodation and his medication and other treatment, including furthering therapeutic and educational work that he has begun and engaged in very well throughout the past year in hospital.”
f) Mr. Huang now has insight into his need for medication, and he plans to remain on his medication regimen.
g) Mr. Huang has been very compliant and agreeable with the treatment team, and the Mental Health Act should be sufficient to manage his risk to the safety of the public.
h) Mr. Huang would come in voluntarily, should the treatment team request that he do so.
i) The treatment team does not feel that they have to approve his housing, as Mr. Huang is satisfied with his current situation and has expressed no interest in changing his accommodation. Should Mr. Huang wish to move, he would discuss any transfer with his treatment team prior to moving.
j) Mr. Huang currently lives in permanent housing.
- In response to questions from the panel, Dr. Ali testified:
a) Mr. Huang’s major mental illness is different from schizophrenia, so if he were to experience decompensation. it would not be readily apparent. Moreover, Mr. Huang would be unable to share any return of his delusions with the treatment team, as the delusions would be real to him. However, the treatment team knows him well; through regular visits, they would be able to ascertain if Mr. Huang were experiencing an increase in his delusional beliefs and to intervene quickly.
No other evidence was called.
Analysis and Conclusion:
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board agrees with the joint submission: Mr. Huang remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In Winko, the Supreme Court outlined that, in coming to the conclusion on the issue of significant risk, a Review Board should closely examine a range of evidence, including: the circumstances of the original offence; the past and expected course of the accused’s treatment; the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition; the NCR accused’s own plans for the future; the support existing for the NCR accused in the community; and most importantly, the recommendations provided by experts who examined the NCR accused. In coming to our conclusion in this matter, the Board relies on the uncontroverted expert evidence of Dr. Ali, in addition to the documentary evidence before us.
In particular, the Board relies on the Re-offence Scenario and the Composite Assessment of Risk, set out in the Hospital Report:
“Re-offence Scenario
In risk assessment, one of the best predictors of future violence is a patient’s history of violence. If Mr. Huang were to reoffend, it would likely be in the context of psychotic symptoms in the context of non-compliance to medication, or stressors leading to psychotic decompensation. In the absence of external monitoring, he will likely disengage with services, become non-compliant with medication, which will increase his risk of relapsing into a psychotic episode, similar to his mental state at the time of the index offence.
Composite Assessment of Risk
Given Mr. Huang’s history of mental illness, previous violence while unwell, and risk assessment scores, he continues to meet the threshold for significant threat as defined in Section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code.”
As set out in the Hospital Report, in the context of a Conditional Discharge, Mr. Huang’s risk of future violence would be low. The uncontroverted evidence before us is that Mr. Huang has had a very positive year. The treatment team is no longer concerned about his level of insight. It has improved, both into his diagnosis and his requirement for medication. In particular, the paragraphs set out in 14(e) of these Reasons quoting from last year's Reasons for Disposition, are no longer applicable.
The Board accepts the doctor’s evidence, that the Mental Health Act would be sufficient to protect the safety of the public, and that the treatment team does not need to approve his housing. It is worth noting that the treatment team did not think it was necessary to include a specified residence in Mr. Huang’s Conditional Discharge Disposition, nor did they require a consent to treatment clause. The treatment team also had no concerns regarding the use of substances. Accordingly, the least onerous, and least restrictive, Disposition is a Conditional Discharge,
In consideration of all the evidence, submissions of the parties and criteria set forth in s. 672.54, the paramount consideration being the safety of the public, in addition to the mental condition of Mr. Huang, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a Conditional Discharge Order, upon the terms set out in our formal Disposition.
DATED this 6th day of August, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Mr. J. Weinstein
Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board