Asked whether electric shock therapy would be used, the employee said it should be called "pulse therapy" and was only used in special circumstances.

A notice on the health ministry's website said that the safety of the electric shock technology was not clear, so use of the therapy should be stopped.

For years, a treatment called electroconvulsive therapy (ect) also known as "electric shock treatment" has been used to induce seizures in anesthetized patients for therapeutic results.