A gay man's lawsuit against a mental hospital in Central China's Henan Province will be heard Wednesday, after he was forcibly hospitalized for 19 days to receive treatment for a so-called sexual preference disorder.
Yu Hu (pseudonym), 37, was forced into care at the Second People's Hospital of Zhumadian by his family members on October 8, 2015 after he filed for divorce from his wife.
Yu's lawyer, Huang Rui, told the Global Times on Tuesday that this act obviously impinged upon Yu's freedom. "The personal freedom of Chinese citizens is protected by law and cannot be infringed upon by hospitals or one's family members," Huang said.
In his suit, which accuses the hospital of violating his personal freedom, Yu is demanding an apology and compensation of 10,000 yuan ($1,520).
However, Huang was pessimistic about the lawsuit because several critical pieces of evidence, including Yu's medical record and an investigation report issued by local authorities, have not been made available to him.
Huang said the hospital refused to allow him to make a copy of Yu's medical record until Wednesday, and he noted that the investigation report was simply based on the hospital's own explanation of Yu's confinement.
Additionally, Yu signed an agreement with the hospital to discharge him, which was probably seen as a consensus, even though the hospital's treatment was unreasonable, said the lawyer.
The hospital restrained Yu immediately after he arrived and did not perform any routine checks, thepaper.cn quoted Yu as saying.
He was then hospitalized for 19 days, during which time he was forced to receive injections and take medicines like antidepressants, according to previous reports by the Global Times.
"I tried to say that I have no metal illnesses," Yu said. "But the hospital rejected my release and treated me as a patient who has a sexual orientation problem."
He was rescued from the hospital on October 26, 2015 by local police, who had been alerted to his plight by a gay rights activist.
Yu decided to sue the hospital when he heard of the successful 2014 suit of a gay man who was also institutionalized for his sexual orientation. In that verdict, the court said "homosexuality is not a disease."
