A WOMAN armed with a knife went on the rampage on an overnight passenger train in north-eastern China, stabbing and wounding nine people as they slept, state media reported on Wednesday.

The attack, which occurred in the early morning on Tuesday on a train in Heilongjiang province, is the latest in a wave of violent attacks by lone assailants that has shocked the country. The woman, who was not identified, went from berth to berth stabbing sleeping passengers until she was wrestled to the ground and restrained by other travellers, said Dongbei, a news website covering China's north-east.

The woman was estimated by witnesses to be about 40 years old, but no other details about her were provided. The train had been travelling from the provincial capital of Harbin to the city of Hebei. The victims received treatment when the train stopped in the city of Jiamusi, but the report did not say how serious their injuries were.

The attack occurred the same day that a bank guard opened fire in a court building in central China's Hunan province, shooting three judges dead and wounding three other people before killing himself, the local government said.

Zhu Jun, 46, had reportedly been angered by another court's ruling on a division of assets in his divorce three years ago. China also has seen a spate of bloody attacks on young schoolchildren around the country since March that have left 17 people dead, including 15 pupils, and scores injured.

Afterthought:
The attacks have triggered an intense debate about the reasons behind them, with some saying China had not attached enough importance to mental health.

The issue at hand in China is that economic growth is outpacing growth in all other sectors.

China has to do something about this issue.

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