PART 2 ADMISSION AND DETENTION OF MENTALLY
DISORDERED PERSONS IN PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS |
| Designated psychiatric institutions |
| 3. The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, designate any hospital or any part of a hospital to be a psychiatric institution for the detention or treatment of mentally disordered persons under this Act. |
| Management of psychiatric institutions |
4.—(1) The management of every psychiatric institution and the care and custody of its patients are to be regulated according to such rules as may be made under this Act by the Minister.| (2) The Minister must appoint for every psychiatric institution at least 12 visitors, 6 of whom must be medical practitioners. |
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5.—(1) Two or more visitors, one of whom must be a medical practitioner, must —| (a) | at least once every 3 months, together inspect any part of any psychiatric institution of which they are visitors; | | (b) | see and examine, as far as circumstances will permit, any patient in the psychiatric institution and the order for the admission of every patient admitted since the last visitation of the visitors; and | | (c) | report to the Director‑General on such matters as they may consider proper in regard to the management and condition of the psychiatric institution and the patients therein. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] |
| (2) The Director‑General may direct one or more visitors to inspect any psychiatric institution and to report to the Director‑General on such matters as the Director‑General may consider proper in regard to the management and condition of the psychiatric institution and the patients therein. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] |
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6.—(1) A person may be admitted to a psychiatric institution and there detained for treatment in accordance with the provisions of this Act for the period allowed by the provisions of this Act.(2) Nothing in this Act is to be construed as preventing a person who requires treatment for any mental disorder —| (a) | from being admitted to a psychiatric institution without any order or directive rendering the person liable to be detained at a psychiatric institution; or | | (b) | from remaining in a psychiatric institution after the person has ceased to be so liable to be detained. |
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| Apprehension of mentally disordered person |
7.—(1) It is the duty of every police officer or special police officer to apprehend any person believed to be dangerous to himself or herself or other persons and such danger is reasonably suspected to be attributable to a mental disorder and take the person together with a report of the facts of the case without delay to —| (a) | any medical practitioner for an examination and the medical practitioner may thereafter act in accordance with section 9; or | | (b) | any designated medical practitioner at a psychiatric institution and the designated medical practitioner may thereafter act in accordance with section 10. [15/2019] |
(2) For the purposes of and without limiting subsection (1) —| (a) | a police officer’s or special police officer’s reasonable belief that a person is doing or about to do an act which is dangerous to himself or herself is sufficient basis for the police officer’s or special police officer’s reasonable suspicion that the danger to that person is attributable to a mental disorder; and | | (b) | “special police officer” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Police Force Act 2004. [15/2019] |
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| Ill-treatment or neglect of mentally disordered person |
8.—(1) If it appears to a Magistrate on the report of a police officer or on the information of a person that any person supposed to be mentally disordered (“P”) is not under proper care and control or is ill‑treated or neglected by any relative or other person having the charge of P, the Magistrate may —| (a) | send for P and summon the relative or other person as has or ought to have the charge of P; and | | (b) | after due inquiry make an order for P to be sent to a designated medical practitioner at a psychiatric institution for treatment and the designated medical practitioner may thereafter act in accordance with section 10. |
| (2) It is the duty of every police officer to report to a Magistrate every case of lack of proper care and control, ill‑treatment or neglect mentioned in subsection (1) which may come to the police officer’s knowledge. |
| (3) Any police officer not below the rank of sergeant may visit any person supposed to be mentally disordered (“P”) in the care of any relative or other person having the charge of P for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not P is under proper care and control or is ill‑treated or neglected by any such relative or other person. |
| (4) Any relative or other person mentioned in subsection (3) is legally bound to produce P for the inspection of the police officer and in the event the relative or other person refuses to do so shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000. |
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| Mentally disordered person may be referred to psychiatric institution |
| 9. Where a medical practitioner has under his or her care a person believed to be mentally disordered or to require psychiatric treatment, the medical practitioner may send the person to a designated medical practitioner at a psychiatric institution for treatment and that designated medical practitioner may thereafter act in accordance with section 10. |
| General provisions as to admission and detention for treatment |
10.—(1) A designated medical practitioner at a psychiatric institution who has examined any person who is suffering from a mental disorder and is of the opinion that that person should be treated, or continue to be treated, as an inpatient at the psychiatric institution may at any time sign an order in accordance with Form 1 in the Schedule —| (a) | for the admission of the person into the psychiatric institution for treatment; or | | (b) | in the case of an inpatient, for the detention and further treatment of the person, |
| and the person may be detained for a period of 72 hours commencing from the time the designated medical practitioner signed the order. |
(2) A patient who has been admitted for treatment or detained for further treatment under an order made under subsection (1) may be detained for a further period of one month commencing from the end of the period of 72 hours mentioned in that subsection if —| (a) | before the end of the period of 72 hours, the patient has been examined by another designated medical practitioner at the psychiatric institution and that designated medical practitioner is of the opinion that the patient requires further treatment at the psychiatric institution; and | | (b) | the designated medical practitioner mentioned in paragraph (a) signs an order in accordance with Form 2 in the Schedule. |
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| (3) A patient who has been detained for further treatment under an order made under subsection (2) must not be detained for any further period at the psychiatric institution for treatment unless before the end of the period of one month mentioned in that subsection, the patient has been brought before 2 designated medical practitioners working at the psychiatric institution, one of whom must be a psychiatrist, who have examined the patient separately and who are both satisfied that the patient requires further treatment at the psychiatric institution. |
| (4) Each of the designated medical practitioners mentioned in subsection (3) must sign an order in accordance with Form 3 in the Schedule. |
| (5) Two orders signed in accordance with subsection (4) are sufficient authority for the detention of the patient to whom they refer for a period not exceeding 6 months commencing from the date of the order. |
(6) A person must not be detained at a psychiatric institution for treatment unless —| (a) | the person is suffering from a mental disorder which warrants the detention of the person in a psychiatric institution for treatment; and | | (b) | it is necessary in the interests of the health or safety of the person or for the protection of other persons that the person should be so detained. |
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11. A medical practitioner who —| (a) | is the husband, wife, father, father‑in‑law, mother, mother‑in‑law, son, son‑in‑law, daughter, daughter‑in‑law, brother, brother‑in‑law, sister or sister‑in‑law of the patient; | | (b) | stands in a fiduciary relationship to the patient; or | | (c) | is treating the patient, |
| must not sign any order under this Act. |
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| Discharge by principal officer or psychiatrist |
| 12. Subject to the provisions of any other written law, the principal officer or a psychiatrist of a psychiatric institution may by writing under his or her hand order the discharge of any patient from the institution. |
| Visitors to apply for Magistrate’s order of detention |
13.—(1) It is the duty of the visitors of every psychiatric institution, upon being satisfied by the report of the principal officer of the institution and by personal inspection that any patient detained under section 10(3) should be further detained for care and treatment, to make an application in accordance with Form 4 in the Schedule to a Magistrate for an order of detention.| (2) The Magistrate may on an application made under subsection (1), with or without further inquiry at his or her discretion, sign a detention order in accordance with Form 5 in the Schedule ordering the patient to be further detained in a psychiatric institution for care and treatment. |
| (3) An order made under subsection (2) is sufficient authority for the further detention of the patient for a period not exceeding 12 months. |
| (4) The visitors may, when making an application for an order of detention under this section, order by endorsement upon the detention order made under section 10(4) that the patient be detained until the order of detention has been received or until the Magistrate has made other order in the case. |
| (5) Any endorsement under subsection (4) is sufficient authority for the detention of the patient during such period. |
| (6) Where a patient has been detained at a psychiatric institution under an order made by a Magistrate under this section, the visitors of the psychiatric institution, upon being satisfied by the report of the principal officer of the institution and by personal inspection that the patient should be further detained at the institution for care and treatment, may make one or more further applications in accordance with Form 4 in the Schedule to a Magistrate for an order of detention. |
| (7) Subsections (2) and (3) apply, with the necessary modifications, to any application made under subsection (6). |
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| 14. Subject to the provisions of any other written law, 2 of the visitors of a psychiatric institution, of whom one must be a medical practitioner, may by writing under their hands order the discharge of any patient from the psychiatric institution. |
| Temporary absence from psychiatric institution |
15.—(1) Two of the visitors of a psychiatric institution may, upon the written recommendation of the principal officer of the institution, permit a patient to be absent from that institution for as long as they think fit.| (2) If before the end of the period of absence, a certificate of 2 designated medical practitioners working in the psychiatric institution that it is no longer necessary that the patient be detained in the institution for care and treatment is forwarded to the principal officer or the visitors of the institution, the patient is deemed to be discharged from the institution. |
| (3) If the patient does not return to the psychiatric institution within 28 days of the end of the period of absence, and no certificate mentioned in subsection (2) has been received, the patient may be retaken as in the case of an escape. |
| (4) The principal officer of a psychiatric institution may permit a patient of the institution to be absent from the institution for any period not exceeding 6 months, and if upon the end of the period of absence the patient does not return to the institution, the patient may be retaken as in the case of an escape. |
(5) Without limiting subsection (4), the principal officer of a psychiatric institution may, where it appears that a patient detained in the psychiatric institution requires treatment for an illness other than mental disorder, direct that the patient —| (a) | reside in and be kept in the custody of any other hospital for a period of time for the purpose of receiving the treatment; and | | (b) | if it is necessary in the patient’s interests to do so, continue to receive treatment for mental disorder in that other hospital during that period. |
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| Removal of patient from one psychiatric institution to another |
| 16.—(1) The Director‑General or such public officer as the Director‑General may appoint, may by order in accordance with Form 6 in the Schedule order the removal of any patient from any psychiatric institution in Singapore to any other psychiatric institution in Singapore. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] | (2) An order under subsection (1) is sufficient authority for the removal of the patient and also for the patient’s reception into the psychiatric institution to which the patient is ordered to be removed. |
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| Removal of patient from Singapore |
17.—(1) Where a person who is not a citizen of Singapore or not domiciled in Singapore (“P”) is detained in a psychiatric institution under the provisions of this Act and it appears expedient that P should be removed to the country of which P is a national or in which P is domiciled, the Minister may, if the Minister is satisfied that —| (a) | P’s removal is likely to be for P’s benefit; and | | (b) | proper arrangements have been made for P’s removal and subsequent care and treatment, |
| direct, by warrant, that P be delivered to the person named in the warrant for the purpose of removal to the country of which P is a national or in which P is domiciled, and the person or authority having the charge of P must obey the warrant. |
| (2) A warrant under this section is sufficient authority for the master of any vessel or captain of any aircraft to receive and detain P on board the vessel or aircraft for the purpose of conveying P to P’s destination. |
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| 18. Any warrant of removal made under section 17 must be addressed to the principal officer of the psychiatric institution in which the patient is at the time detained and must direct the principal officer to deliver up the patient to the person mentioned in the warrant at such place and in such manner as may be specified in that warrant for the purpose of the patient’s removal and the patient must be delivered up accordingly. |
| 19. Any patient removed from Singapore under section 17 must not return to Singapore except by permission of the Minister. |
| Application for order for payment of cost of maintenance |
20.—(1) If any patient detained in a psychiatric institution under the provisions of this Act has an estate applicable to his or her maintenance, or if any person legally bound to maintain the patient has the means to maintain the patient, the principal officer of the institution may apply to the court for an order for the payment of the cost of maintenance of the patient.| (2) The court is to inquire into the matter in a summary way, and on being satisfied that the patient has an estate applicable to his or her maintenance, or that any person is legally bound to maintain and has the means of maintaining the patient, may make an order for the recovery of the cost of maintenance of the patient, together with the costs of the application, out of the estate or from the person. |
| (3) An order made by a court under subsection (2) is to be enforced in the same manner and has the same force and effect and is subject to the same appeal as a judgment or order made by that court in a suit in respect of the property or person mentioned in that subsection. |
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| Saving of liability of relatives |
| 21. The liability of any relative or other person to maintain any mentally disordered person shall not be taken away or affected by any provision in this Act. |
| Offences against patients |
22.—(1) Any medical practitioner, nurse, attendant or other person employed by or rendering service in any psychiatric institution or hospital mentioned in section 15(5), who ill-treats any patient shall be guilty of an offence.(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person ill‑treats a patient if the person —| (a) | subjects the patient to physical or sexual abuse; | | (b) | wilfully or unreasonably does, or causes the patient to do, any act which endangers or is likely to endanger the safety of the patient or which causes or is likely to cause the patient —| (i) | any unnecessary physical pain, suffering or injury; | | (ii) | any emotional injury; or | | (iii) | any injury to the patient’s health; or |
| | (c) | wilfully or unreasonably neglects the patient in circumstances that are likely to endanger the safety of the patient or to cause the patient —| (i) | any unnecessary physical pain, suffering or injury; | | (ii) | any emotional injury; or | | (iii) | any injury to the patient’s health. |
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| (3) For the purpose of subsection (2)(c), a person is deemed to have neglected the patient in circumstances likely to cause the patient unnecessary physical pain, suffering or injury or emotional injury or injury to the patient’s health if the person wilfully or unreasonably neglects to provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid or care for the patient. |
(4) A person may be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) —| (a) | even though any actual suffering or injury, or the likelihood of any suffering or injury, on the part of the patient was obviated by the action of another person; or | | (b) | despite the death of the patient. |
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| (5) Any person who has sexual intercourse with a patient of a psychiatric institution, while in that institution, shall be guilty of an offence. |
| (6) Consent is not a defence in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (5) if the accused knew or had reason to suspect that the person in respect of whom the offence was committed was a patient of the psychiatric institution. |
(7) Any person who is guilty of an offence —| (a) | under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction —| (i) | in the case where death is caused to the patient, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both; or | | (ii) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or to both; or |
| | (b) | under subsection (5) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both. |
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