Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, October 13 - Four psychiatrists suddenly visited Wang Hua (a pseudonym), a resident of the Shizhong District of Jinan City. They tied him up and attempted to forcibly admit him as a psychiatric patient. Consequently, Wang Hua took the psychiatric hospital and his wife to court. Today, due to neither party appealing within the legal deadline, the first-instance judgment by the People's Court of Shizhong District in Jinan City has taken effect. The ruling ordered the defendant psychiatric hospital to compensate Wang Hua with 5000 yuan for mental distress. This is reportedly the first effective judgment in China involving a citizen being treated as a psychiatric patient leading to litigation.
According to the plaintiff, Wang Hua, on a day in April this year, while resting at home, four doctors from a psychiatric hospital in Jinan suddenly entered his house, bound his hands, and attempted to take him away for treatment as a psychiatric patient. He strongly argued that he was a normal person and resisted fiercely, calling for help, which attracted many onlookers. With the assistance of the police who arrived after an emergency call, he managed to escape. Later, he learned that it was his wife who requested the psychiatric hospital to treat him. As a result, he sued the psychiatric hospital and his wife, arguing that their actions caused him significant physical, psychological, and mental harm. He demanded that the psychiatric hospital pay 50,000 yuan for mental distress, and his wife pay 3,000 yuan and issue an apology.
The defendant psychiatric hospital felt aggrieved and pointed out in its defense that after Wang Hua's wife completed admission procedures at the hospital, she hired a vehicle and invited the hospital's doctors to treat the psychiatric patient. The use of restraints on the patient was to prevent self-harm or harm to others. Therefore, the psychiatric hospital claimed it followed standard procedures for treating psychiatric patients and did not commit any infringement. Wang Hua's wife also acknowledged the psychiatric hospital's statement, believing that Wang Hua should be taken away for treatment.
The court ruled that without going through legal procedures, no unit or individual can deprive others of their personal freedom. Even if someone is a psychiatric patient or suspected to be one, without legal mandatory provisions, a psychiatric hospital cannot forcibly admit them. In this case, the psychiatric hospital relied solely on Wang Hua's wife's statement and used binding methods to forcibly admit Wang Hua, which constitutes an infringement. According to the law, they should apologize and provide compensation.
Ultimately, the court's first-instance judgment ordered the defendant psychiatric hospital to compensate the plaintiff, Wang Hua, with 5000 yuan for mental distress. After the judgment, the appeal period has passed, and neither party appealed, making the judgment final.
With the court's judgment taking effect, this case has come to a close. However, the controversy sparked by the case continues. As Wang Hua stated, if psychiatric hospitals can arbitrarily treat someone as a psychiatric patient and forcibly admit them, then everyone faces the risk of being forcibly admitted as a psychiatric patient, which will inevitably lead to social disorder.
The judge who presided over this case explained that whether Wang Hua is a psychiatric patient is not the focus of contention; the focus lies in whether the psychiatric hospital has the authority to forcibly admit patients. Due to the lack of clear legal provisions currently, the forced admission by the psychiatric hospital constitutes an infringement. To ensure that psychiatric patients receive timely treatment while ensuring that normal people are not mistakenly admitted as psychiatric patients, specific legal regulations are needed regarding the identification and admission procedures for psychiatric patients.