Attorney-General
Lucien Wong
The Attorney-General’s Chambers
1 Upper Pickering Street
058288 Singapore
Dear Lucien,
My name is Frank Lee. I am writing to you about a large number of daily violations of Singapore’s Laws and Constitution that are going unpunished.
At any given point in time, there are hundreds of Singaporeans locked up in the Institute of Mental Health. These Singaporeans are deprived of even their most basic liberties.
I was locked up there three times for about eight weeks in total, so I’ve experienced and seen with my own eyes that hundreds of human beings are not allowed to:
- Go home and sleep in their own beds
- Freely see their loved ones
- Take a shower when they want to
- Eat when they want to
- Sleep when they want to
- Go outside and exercise when they want to
- etc.
This violates three laws in Singapore.
1) The Right to Refuse Healthcare
Individuals in Singapore have the right to refuse healthcare.
Although in my opinion it has made a mistake in doing so, the Ministry of Health has designated the IMH as a hospital that provides healthcare services. As such, it is illegal for the IMH to force treatment upon Singaporeans.
2) The Obligation of Doctors to Act in the Best Interests of their Patients
Doctors in Singapore are obligated to act in the best interests of their patients.
Although in my opinion psychiatrists are no doctors and the Singaporeans locked up in the IMH are victims rather than patients, the law and public opinion currently state otherwise.
It is not in anyone’s best interest to be confined. As such, IMH psychiatrists locking up Singaporeans are breaches of their obligations to act in their patients’ best interests.
3) Article 10 Clause 6(b) of the MHCTA
This states:
A person must not be detained at a psychiatric institution for treatment unless —
(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.
The latter half that states “necessary for the protection of other persons” means that there must be no other way to protect others from said person.
Singapore’s authorities can easily protect the public from dangerous individuals by locking them up in prison, which is what prisons are for.
So clearly, no one can ever be legally locked up in the IMH for the protection of others. However, I was and many others are.
Some common sense
It is not legal to deprive an individual of its liberty, unless the individual has broken the law, and it has been found guilty of this during a fair trial.
Yet, the IMH locks up individuals who have not broken any laws, based on THEORIES that the individuals will break the law in the FUTURE, based on psychiatry’s BELIEFS that the individuals have “minds” that are diseased / disordered.
This is not okay.
Furthermore, Singaporeans are allowed to say no to life-saving cancer treatment. I recently talked to a Grab driver who shared with me that his wife’s mother had decided to say no to life-saving cancer treatment, which others in the family were sad about, but which of course was respected, because that was her choice.
However, the IMH forces “treatment” upon Singaporeans in the form of forced consumption and injections of brain-altering drugs. I was even tortured from November 25th to 27th 2024 for my refusal to take psychiatric drugs.
Torture and Involuntary Brain Alteration are not legal in Singapore.
Lucien, I ask that you urgently investigate the IMH’s daily crimes against countless Singaporeans.
What is going on at the IMH is in violation of Singapore’s laws, and thereby also in violation of Article 9 Clause 1 of Singapore’s Constitution, which states that Singaporeans shall not be deprived of their liberty unless in accordance with Singapore’s laws, which is clearly not the case here.
Kind regards,
Frank Lee
18 Marina Boulevard
Marina Bay Residences 29-01
018980 Singapore
Tel: REDACTED
Email: REDACTED
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