New York  - The Chinese immigrant who brutally stabbed, beheaded and then ate the flesh of his seatmate on a Greyhound Canada bus last July, was found not criminally responsible for the crime on Thursday.

Vincent Li, 40, had pled not guilty in the gruesome killing of carnival worker Tim McLean, 22.

"These grotesque acts are appalling... but are suggestive of a mental disorder," judge John Scurfield said in the Winnipeg, Canada courtroom, according to Canadian broadcaster CBC at the end of the three-day hearing. "He did not appreciate the act he committed was wrong."

Li's lawyers had argued that he suffered from schizophrenia and could not be held criminally responsible for his actions.

The attack took place on a Greyhound bus traveling along the Trans-Canada highway from Edmonton to Winnipeg. Li stabbed McLean with a large hunting knife as 36 passengers watched. The driver pulled over to allow the others to disembark, and they stood on the highway watching the grisly murder unfold as they waited for police to arrive.

According to witnesses, Li beheaded McLean and walked to the front of the bus holding the head. Police had by then surrounded the bus, but chose not to storm it. They waited until Li shattered a window, threw out a knife and scissors and then jumped out.

As police and passengers watched, Li proceeded to cut off parts of the body and even eat some. When they finally apprehended him, he carried a severed ear and nose inside a plastic bag in his pocket.

The court was told Tuesday that Li had no criminal record and came to Canada from China in 2001. He worked as a supervisor at McDonald's, a church caretaker and a newspaper carrier.

McLean's family has been lobbying for a change in legislation, which would prevent a person found not criminally responsible for a crime from being released into the community - meaning that such a person would face life imprisonment.

Mclean's mother told CBC she never wanted to see Li released from custody. (dpa)