Ma Jiajue, a student suspected of killing four students, has refused free legal aid offered by several law firms, Chinese language newspapers reported.

At least four law firms have offered to defend Ma free of charge, but Ma refused. He said he did not want his parents to hire lawyers for him.

Ma, who allegedly killed four students after he was infuriated by their allegations that he had cheated at cards, told police the killing was driven by a sense of failure.

"I feel that they (classmates) looked down on me. They always speak evil of me behind me. They said I was weird, and talked about my habits and even privacy, making me a laughing stock for everybody," Ma told police.

One of Ma's classmates, however, complained that Ma "always picked fault with others."

Asked why others disliked him, Ma said it was because he was poor.

Ma, 23, came from an impoverished rural family in a remote village in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A biochemistry major with Yunnan University, he was the first in generations to progress to higher education.

Psychological experts say Ma's actions have a lot to do with his mental problems. The case has raised people's concern about the mental health of college students, especially those from rural areas.

After the incident, Yunnan Province plans to survey the mental health of college students in the province and to establish a mental health archive for each freshman.

Half of the 200,000 college students in the province will take part in the survey.

(Shenzhen Daily March 23, 2004)