HONG KONG
LEGAL REPORT
MENTAL HEALTH (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1988
(No. 46 of 1988)
Enclosure No. 2
This Ordinance makes extensive amendments to the provisions of the Mental Health Ordinance. Apart from the introduction of more modern terminology, the main provisions are as follows
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Persons suffering from mental disorder may be detained in a mental hospital for observation on the order of a District Judge, magistrate or justice of the peace. A person may not be detained in this manner for more than 7 days initially (section 5).
New provisions are introduced to enable the mentally disordered person to be placed under the guardianship of either the Director of Social Welfare or another person acceptable to the Director (section 7). The powers of the guardian include the power to determine the place of residence of the patient and to require him to attend for medical treatment.
The grounds on which a patient may be detained for medical treatment in a mental hospital are reformulated (section 8).
Provision is made for taking steps to admit mentally disordered prisoners to a mental hospital as ordinary patients upon the completion of their sentence or the period for which they are detained under a hospital order (section 8).
(e) Patients absent on trial under section 39 can be
recalled before the end of the period of absence if their mental condition deteriorates (section 11).
(£)
The power of hospital visitors to discharge patients disappears as this is unnecessary by reason of the new provisions relating to the Mental Health Review Tribunal (section 12).
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