PART 3 | 23. Where in any written law or other document any reference to a lunatic or to lunacy or to a lunatic asylum, an asylum or a psychiatric institution is contained, that reference, unless the context otherwise requires, is to be read as a reference to a mentally disordered person or a patient within the meaning of this Act, or to mental disorder, or to a psychiatric institution, respectively. |
| 24. Every order or certificate of a designated medical practitioner is evidence of the facts appearing in the order or certificate and of the judgment stated in the order or certificate to have been formed by the person certifying those facts, as if the matters appearing in the order or certificate had been verified on oath. |
| Protection of person enforcing Act |
25.—(1) Where a person has —| (a) | made a request for the reception of any patient, or signed or carried out or done any act with a view to signing or carrying out any report, application, recommendation, or certificate purporting to be a report, application, recommendation or certificate under this Act; or | | (b) | done anything under this Act, |
| the person shall not be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings, whether on the ground of want of jurisdiction or on any other ground, unless the person has acted in bad faith or without reasonable care. |
| (2) No proceedings, civil or criminal, shall be brought against any person in any court in respect of any such matter as is mentioned in subsection (1) without the permission of the court, and permission shall not be given unless the court is satisfied that there is substantial ground for the contention that the person, against whom it is sought to bring the proceedings, has acted in bad faith or without reasonable care. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| (3) Notice of any application under subsection (2) must be given to the person against whom it is sought to bring the proceedings, and the person is entitled to be heard against the application. |
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| Penalty for improper reception or detention |
26.—(1) Subject to section 25, any person who —| (a) | otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act receives or detains in a psychiatric institution a person who is or is alleged to be mentally disordered; or | | (b) | for gain detains in any place that is not a psychiatric institution, 2 or more mentally disordered persons, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
| (2) A prosecution under this section must not be commenced except with the consent of the Public Prosecutor. |
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| Sum payable by Government to mentally disordered person |
27. Where any sum is payable in respect of pay, pension, gratuity or other similar allowance to any person by the Government, and the person to whom the sum is payable is found under the provisions of this Act to be mentally disordered, the Government may —| (a) | pay so much of that sum as it thinks fit to the person having charge of the mentally disordered person; and | | (b) | pay the surplus (if any), or such part of the surplus as it thinks fit, for the maintenance of such members of the family of the mentally disordered person as are dependent on that person for maintenance. |
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| Order for payment of cost of maintenance |
28.—(1) Where any person (“P”) has been received into a psychiatric institution in accordance with section 249 or 252 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 or section 43 of the Prisons Act 1933, the court —| (a) | on the application of the principal officer of the psychiatric institution, may make an order for the payment of the cost of maintenance of P in the psychiatric institution; and | | (b) | may direct that any sum of money payable under that order is to be recovered from the estate of the person, or of any person legally bound to maintain P. |
| (2) If at any time it appears to the satisfaction of the court that P has no sufficient property and that no person legally bound to maintain P has sufficient means for the payment of the cost, the court is to so certify instead of making an order under that subsection for the payment of the cost. |
| (3) An order under subsection (1) 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 the court in a suit in respect of the property or person mentioned in that subsection. |
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| Mental Capacity Act 2008 matters |
| 29. Nothing contained in this Act is to be taken to interfere with the power of the court over any person found to be lacking capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2008. |
| 30.—(1) The Director‑General or any public officer authorised by the Director‑General may compound any offence under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $2,000. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] | (2) On payment of the sum of money mentioned in subsection (1), no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence. |
| (3) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. |
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| 31. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, amend, add to or vary the Schedule. |
32.—(1) The Minister may make rules for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make rules to prescribe —| (a) | the conditions and circumstances under which mechanical means of restraint or seclusion may be applied to patients; | | (b) | the books and records to be kept in psychiatric institutions; and | | (c) | anything which may be prescribed or is required to be prescribed under this Act. |
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| (3) The Minister may, in making any rules, provide that any contravention of any provision of the rules is an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. |
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| 33. All orders and applications made and things done under Parts II and III of the repealed Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 178, 1985 Revised Edition) before 1 March 2010 in relation to a person of unsound mind are deemed to be made or done under this Act; and for this purpose, the provisions of this Act apply to and in relation to the person as if he or she is a mentally disordered person under this Act. |
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