The damaged car set fired by Dou Wei in Beijing , May 10, 2006.(Xinhua photo)

    BEIJING, May 15 -- Since attacking reporters and computers in the Beijing News office and setting fire to a staff member's car May 10, rock star Dou Wei is still in police custody, according to Ma Pei, guitarist in Dou's Not Sure Yet Band.

    The Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening News reported Saturday that the Beijing News and the car owner would not sue Dou but the case is not expected to end soon.

    "The police will definitely not set him free easily. Once Dou is out, he will definitely contact us. But we haven't heard anything from him yet," said Ma.

    "Due to media pressure, the case has become more complex for the police. Although they feel sympathy for Dou, they will solve the problem impartially, otherwise the media will exaggerate the issue again," Ma said.

    

Dou Wei is caught by the Police after setting fire to a staff member's car May (Xinhua photo)

According to the Yangtze Evening News, Dou's mental condition is not as bad as previous media reports indicated.

    Sources close to Dou said that he had been perfectly normal the night before the incidents.

    "We had been around him several days before he set fire to the car. He was fine. The problem is that Dou just wanted to relieve his feelings. All kinds of pressure from his family, from the outside world, especially from the media, led to the middle-aged man's drastic behavior. If there was something mentally wrong, he would not have surrendered to the police so calmly," Ma said.

    The newspaper also said the Beijing music circle was planning a fund-raiser for Dou but Ma disagreed.

    "What Dou needs most is not money but respect for his private life from the media. If the media do not cover him too much, he will be saved," Ma said.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)