Mental patient wins day in court

Minhang District People's Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit that a mental patient filed against his older brother and the hospital that has kept him locked up for 10 years, local media reported Tuesday.

The case is the first that a court has accepted from someone committed at a psychiatric institution since the central government instituted a Mental Health Law in May that gave patients the right to leave the hospital upon recovery, according to a report on caixin.com, the website of a national news magazine.

In the past, cases filed by mental patients have been rejected outright because patients weren't deemed mentally fit to sue under Chinese law.

The court plans to hold an open hearing on the case on January 6, the report said.

The plaintiff, a man surnamed Xu, filed the lawsuit against his brother and the Shanghai Qingchun Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Minhang district for illegally restricting his personal freedom, according to his lawyer, Yang Weihua, an attorney from Yingke Law Firm's Shanghai office.

Xu sued his brother, who now serves as his legal guardian, because he has refused to return to Shanghai to check Xu out of the hospital, the report said. The brother said he would take Xu out of the hospital after he retires in three years. Currently, he said he spends too much time outside the city on business.

Xu said that his brother has refused to check him out because he has rented out their father's apartment and wants to keep making money off the property.

"We would like the court to rule that the two defendants have kept Xu in the hospital illegally since 2003," Yang told the Global Times.

Along with his release, Xu demanded 10,000 yuan ($1,647) in compensation from the hospital and a public apology.

Xu's father, now deceased, committed him to the hospital for schizophrenia in 2003, Yang said. However, Xu argues that his psychological status has never been properly diagnosed.

Xu had been living in Australia for six or seven years when immigration officials refused to renew his visa in 2000 because of concerns about his mental health, Yang said. Xu had originally gone to the country to study.

When he returned to Shanghai, he moved in with his father, but had trouble readjusting to life in the city. Yang said Xu occasionally heard voices in his head and sometimes fought with his father. During one argument, Xu's father feared his son would attack him, so he called the police. Soon after, he had Xu committed.

Yang believes that Xu can be released if the court rules he is being held illegally. "According to the new Mental Health Law, mental patients should not have their freedom restricted unless there is evidence that they will hurt themselves or others," Yang said.