Vince Li, who beheaded bus passenger, gets unsupervised passes to Winnipeg

Vince Li appears in a Portage La Prairie, Man. court Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. (John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Vince Li, the man who beheaded a fellow Greyhound bus passenger in 2008, has been granted unescorted outings to Winnipeg.

In a decision released Friday, the Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board said that Li, 46, must remain in hospital custody, but be given unescorted day passes to Winnipeg.

Li had been previously granted escorted passes to Winnipeg and was allowed unescorted outings to Selkirk, Man.

The review board said it considered all the evidence presented, including the testimony of Li’s psychiatrist and Li’s “present mental condition.”

Dr. Steven Kremer told a board review hearing earlier this week that Li has shown "profound improvement" and is at low risk to reoffend.

The review board also said it took into account the safety of the public, “which is the paramount consideration.”

The board’s order comes into effect on March 5. Li must continue to take his medication and be equipped with a working cellphone, the board said.

The board also said that it may eventually “consider and approve” Li’s move to a group home.

Li, a schizophrenic who has been residing at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, was found not criminally responsible for mutilating and beheading 22-year-old Tim McLean aboard a Winnipeg-bound Greyhound bus in July 2008.

Li had told authorities that he heard the voice of God telling him to kill the young man or "die immediately."

Kremer told the criminal code review board hearing that Li has not had any hallucinations in over a year and understands the need to take the medication that has been prescribed to him.

But McLean’s mother, Carol de Delley, said that Li will “have schizophrenia for the rest of his life” and she is “dumbfounded” by the increased freedom he has been given.

“I believe that my government owes me and my family an apology for the way this whole situation has transpired,” de Delley told CTV News Channel Friday.

She said that her family has had no involvement in the review board’s decision.

“He (Li) also cannibalized my son’s body and I don’t believe that he has even admitted that, so how well is he?” de Delley said.

She said she doesn’t think that Li has been rehabilitated because “he has an incurable illness.”

“My fellow Canadians: this is how our country is handling the mentally ill killers that we have here and it needs to change,” she said.