Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Coming into Force: 31 December 2012
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Act 21 of 2008)
• Enactment Date: 01 March 2010
• Record Number: Cap. 178A
• Published date: 31 December 2012

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act

(CHAPTER 178A)

(Original Enactment: Act 21 of 2008)

REVISED EDITION 2012

(31st December 2012)

An Act to provide for the admission, detention, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons in designated psychiatric institutions.

[1st March 2010]

PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “designated medical practitioner”, in relation to any psychiatric institution, means a medical practitioner who is working in the psychiatric institution and who is designated by name or office in writing by the Director or such public officer as he may appoint, for the purposes of this Act; “Director” means the Director of Medical Services; “medical practitioner” means any person who is registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174); “mental disorder” means any mental illness or any other disorder or disability of the mind, and “mentally disordered” shall be construed accordingly; “patient” means any person who has been detained or is receiving treatment in a psychiatric institution; “principal officer”, in relation to any psychiatric institution, means the chairman, medical board of the hospital which has been designated as a psychiatric institution or a part of which has been designated as a psychiatric institution, as the case may be, and includes any acting chairman of the medical board or any person acting in a similar capacity as chairman, medical board, whether or not he is known by such designation; “property” includes any thing in action and any interest in real or personal property; “psychiatric institution” means a psychiatric institution designated by the Minister under section 3; “psychiatrist” means any medical practitioner who is registered as a psychiatrist in the Register of Specialists under the Medical Registration Act; “relative”, in relation to a person suffering or appearing to be suffering from mental disorder, means any of the following persons being, in the case of any of the persons referred to in paragraphs (b) to (i), a person of or above the age of 18 years: (a) husband or wife, or reputed husband or wife who is living with the person or, if the person is for the time being an inpatient in a hospital, was so living when the person was last residing at liberty out of a hospital; (b) son or daughter; (c) father or mother; (d) brother or sister; (e) grandparent; (f) grandchild; (g) uncle or aunt; (h) nephew or niece; (i) any person with whom the person ordinarily resides or, if the person is for the time being an inpatient in a hospital, with whom he was ordinarily residing when last at liberty out of a hospital; “treatment” includes observation, inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment and rehabilitation. (1A) In sections 20, 28 and 29, “court” means the General Division of the High Court or a Family Court. [Act 27 of 2014 wef 01/10/2014] [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] (2) In deducing relationships for the purposes of this section, any relationship of the half-blood shall be treated as a relationship of the whole blood, an illegitimate child shall be treated as the legitimate child of his mother and reputed father, and an adopted child shall be treated as a child of the adopting parent. [MDTA, s. 2]

PART II 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. [MDTA, s. 28] Management of psychiatric institutions 4.—(1) The management of every psychiatric institution and the care and custody of its patients shall be regulated according to such rules as shall from time to time be made under this Act by the Minister. (2) The Minister shall appoint for every psychiatric institution not fewer than 12 visitors, 6 of whom shall be medical practitioners. [MDTA, s. 29] Inspection by visitors 5.—(1) Two or more visitors, one of whom shall be a medical practitioner, shall — (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 therein and the order for the admission of every patient admitted since the last visitation of the visitors; and (c) report to the Director on such matters as they may consider proper in regard to the management and condition of the psychiatric institution and the patients therein. (2) The Director may direct one or more visitors to inspect any psychiatric institution and to report to him on such matters as he may consider proper in regard to the management and condition of the psychiatric institution and the patients therein. [MDTA, s. 30] Admission for treatment 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 shall 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 him liable to be detained at a psychiatric institution; or (b) from remaining in a psychiatric institution after he has ceased to be so liable to be detained. [MDTA, s. 31] Apprehension of mentally disordered person 7.—(1) It shall be the duty of every police officer or special police officer to apprehend any person believed to be dangerous to himself 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. [Act 15 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] (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 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 same meaning as in section 2 of the Police Force Act (Cap. 235). [Act 15 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] 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 is not under proper care and control or is ill-treated or neglected by any relative or other person having the charge of him, the Magistrate may — (a) send for the person supposed to be mentally disordered and summon the relative or other person as has or ought to have the charge of him; and (b) after due inquiry make an order for the person 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 shall be the duty of every police officer to report to a Magistrate every such case of lack of proper care and control, ill-treatment or neglect as specified in subsection (1) which may come to his knowledge. (3) Any police officer not below the rank of sergeant may visit any person supposed to be mentally disordered in the care of any relative or other person having the charge of him for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the person 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 referred to in subsection (3) shall be legally bound to produce the person for the inspection of the police officer and in the event of his refusing to do so shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000. [MDTA, s. 33] Mentally disordered person may be referred to psychiatric institution 9. Where a medical practitioner has under his care a person believed to be mentally disordered or to require psychiatric treatment, he 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. [MDTA, s. 34] 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 he 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 expiration of the period of 72 hours referred to in that subsection if — (a) before the expiration 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) that designated medical practitioner signs an order in accordance ...