Abuse of psychiatry in IMH and Changi Prison

1.     The following account is the psychiatric treatment I received in the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Changi prison. The psychiatrists I am complaining about are Dr. Cheow Enquan from IMH and Dr. Lim Chee Min from Changi General Hospital.

Political abuse of psychiatry

2.     On Mar 2, the Court ordered me to be remanded in IMH for two weeks for a psychiatric evaluation. While the accused persons were by default locked up in Ward 75B of IMH and allowed to watch TV during the daytime, I was directly locked up in a single cell in Ward 75A, a place for patients with serious mental illness.

3.     Nurses wouldn’t explain why I was held in solitary confinement but the other two persons stayed in Ward 75B. I requested to talk to the on-duty psychiatrist but was replied to talk to the psychiatrist in charge of my case on Monday. On the one hand, nurses and casual workers considered me as a serious problem and were extremely afraid that I would get out of the solitary confinement; on the other hand, they claimed they didn’t see me as a patient. 

4.     The following 3 interviews with Dr. Cheow Enquan of IMH proved to be a disaster. Although he didn’t appear to have any idea of my espionage allegations, Dr. Cheow simply pressed me on the espionage allegations throughout the interviews.  I had to told him to read but he to read my blogposts before his interview. The only other question he asked was whether I had completed the essay Is Singapore’s legal system fair? on my own, a question that has no connection with my mental state.

The 1st interview

5.     On Mar 4, I asked Dr. Cheow about the Prosecution’s suspicion of the mental illness I had. Given the fact that IMH had officially certified me twice to be of sound mind and diagnosed that I didn’t have a major mental illness, the Prosecution’s suspicion of a delusional disorder was ridiculous. If the suspected disorder as a major mental illness, the suspicion would refute the official diagnosis. If it was a minor mental illness, the suspicion would be baseless because the diagnosis of minor mental illness required a long-term observation. I was recently admitted on Jan 1 and Feb 23 by Dr. Kumar, and IMH released me unconditionally.

6.     Dr. Cheow answered the interview was meant to assess whether I had certain mental illness. I asked him how he designed the questions for the interview because the focus of an interview for one mental illness was significantly different from that for a mental illness with a different nature. Dr. Chew didn’t answer but pressed me to talk about my espionage allegations and the 3 charges I was facing. I told him to read my blogpost.

7.     As for my solitary confinement in Ward 75A, I told him I was considering a hunger strike for a transfer. Shortly after the interview, I was brought out to Ward 75B and shared a room with several other accused persons.

The 2nd interview

8.     On Mar 6, Dr. Cheow told me he had read my blogpost My life in Changi Prison (draft), which had little to  do with my espionage allegations. I asked Dr. Cheow whether I had Alzheimer’s diseases or other types of dementia, and he answered in negative. When questioned how he came to the conclusion without carrying out an interview, he was unable to answer. I told him that a psychiatrist was not in a position to determine whether I had a delusional disorder based on my espionage allegations because the truthfulness of these allegations was not a medical issue at all.

9.     I also reminded Dr. Cheow that the government including Attorney-General Lucien Wong was fully aware of my espionage allegations but had no intention of denying them. Instead of responding to my challenges, Dr. Cheow threatened me that he would diagnose with a major mental illness if I wouldn’t cooperate with him. I quit the interview right away.

10.  On Mar 8, I lodged a formal complaint to Dr. Chua Hong Choon, the CEO of IMH, against Dr. Cheow for his incompetence and his malice towards me. I claimed that a suspicion of certain mental illness was prerequisite for evaluating the mental state of a person, and the examination of the truthfulness of espionage allegations was outside the knowledge and experience of a psychiatrist. On Mar 9, Dr. Chau Hong Choon informed me through a staff member that I was suspected of having a delusional disorder.

The 3rd interview

11.  On Mar 11, Dr. Cheow directed me to attend his 3rd interview but I simply replied I wouldn’t. In response, he told me he had already diagnosed me with a delusional disorder. I requested to write a letter to Jennifer Jokstad, an officer in UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in Bangkok, as I did in 2016 and 2018. Dr. Cheow approved my request so I completed the complaint letter on Mar 12 at 2pm. 

12.  In this letter, I complained that IMH forced me to attend interviews and made a diagnosis based on no information. I also requested the UNs to forward my emails to several embassies in Singapore. Shortly after I passed the letter along to the nurse, an on-duty nurse told me IMH wouldn’t email my letter to the UNs because Dr. Cheow only allowed me to write the letter so I must send the letter by email after my release. As for the delivery of my previous two letters to the UNs in 2016 and 2017 by IMH, the nurse explained that the internal policies had changed so IMH wouldn’t email my letter again.

13.  In response to Dr. Cheow’s deception, I went on a hunger strike from the dinner time until Mar 15 when I was transported back to court. At around middle night (0:30 of Mar 13), I was woken up by some noise caused by door opening. I saw 3 nurses and 4 AETOS Auxiliary police officers approaching the room. They left immediately after the nurses found I had already noticed them. Since they didn’t carry any medical equipment with them, I suspected that they planned to forcibly transfer me to Ward 75A as a result of Dr. Cheow’s diagnosis.

14.  Instantly I asked the on-duty nurse at Ward 75B why these persons came to the room, this nurse stubbornly refused to answer. In the afternoon of Mar 13, I reported this matter to the nurse clinician for an investigation but didn’t get a reply. IMH even confiscated my letter wrote to the UNs on Mar 13 and gave me a photocopy of it when I was left on Mar 15.

Political abuse of psychiatry in IMH

15.  I didn’t get a copy of the Dr. Cheow Enquan’s official report submitted to the court until late March in prison. In his report, Dr. Cheow claimed at paragraph 2 that “The nature and purpose of the forensic psychiatric evaluation was explained to the accused at the commencement of the first interview on 4 March including an emphasis on the lack/absence of confidentiality in the interaction”. Dr. Cheow made a false allegation here as he had never explained to me about the nature and purpose of the evaluation. In fact, he was even unable to justify the Prosecution’s suspicion of the delusion disorder in the first place.

16.  I had already reported the espionage activities to the government in the Tampines flat to Minister of Home Affairs on Nov 17, 2018, to PM Lee on Dec 31, 2018, to Attorney- General on Dec 14, 2018, Jan 7, 2019 and Feb 8, 2019, however, I haven’t received a reply from the government about its position on my espionage allegations. Moreover, Dr. Cheow didn’t even tell me his interview with a third-party including Chao Shen Lin.

17.  In fact, Dr. Cheow deliberately withheld from me his phone interviews with my ex-spouse Liu Tian and my ex-landlord Chao Shen Lin of the Tampines flat, both of whom had a conflict of interests with me. Dr. Cheow made his diagnosis exclusively based on Chao’s statements, he didn’t subject Chao to a cross-examination to establish Chao’s credibility. In addition, Dr. Cheow completely ignored the substantial evidence set out in my blogpost that linked Chao to government’s intelligence agencies.

18.  The evidence was provided in my email to PM Lee Hisen Loong on Dec 31, 2019, to AG Lucien Wong on Jan 7, 2019 and Feb 8, 2019. In addition, I informed the spying activities by Chao’s colleagues to Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on Nov 17, 2018 and to AG Lucien Wong on Dec 14, 2018. In addition, I made police report (G_20181214_7029)  on Dec 14, 2018, report (G/20181210/2076) on Dec 10, 2018 and lodged a magistrate complaint MJ 005 on Dec 13, 2019 about the spying activities in the Chao’s flat. 

Abuse of psychiatry in Institution B2

19.  On Mar 15, I was transferred to Changi Prison. On Mar 16, I talked to Supt. Tan Bian Kiat, the person-in-charge of Institution B2. Supt Tan was surprised how I could memorize the number of cells I stayed a few year ago after reading my blogpost My life in Changi Prison (draft). He tested me by asking me the number of the cell I was lock up but I couldn’t give an answer. I didn’t pay attention to the number of cells for a temporary stay. To avoid misunderstanding, I deliberately told him the IMH’s certificate.

20.  On the morning of Mar 18, a prison officer handcuffed me and forced me to see prison psychiatrist Dr. Lim Chee Min. I told Dr. Lim about the certificate issued by IMH on Mar 14, 2019 and asked him for the legal basis of the interview. Dr. Lim simply answered he voluntarily interviewed me to ensure my safety. While Dr. Lim was still asking me questions about my mood and hearing voices, I told him I wouldn’t give him my consent for the interview. I stopped talking to him but Dr. Lim pressed ahead with his questions. To my surprise, Dr. Lim finally managed to diagnose me with certain mental illness.

21.  Dr. Lim not only prescribed a medication for me but strongly persuaded me to take it. He told me neither his diagnosis nor the effect and side effect of his medication. The interview finished in about 5minutes. Since the afternoon of March 18, the nurses in B2 had asked me to take medication every day until Apr 18 when I was transferred to B4. On April 3, B2 officer forced to see Dr. Lim, who explained “I know you are a reasonable person, but you’d better take the medication I prescribed”.

22.  After released from Changi Prison, I found the medication was Olanzapine, which is used to treat certain mental/mood conditions (such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder). It may also be used in combination with other medication to treat depression. This medication can help to decrease hallucinations and help you to think more clearly and positively about yourself, feel less agitated, and take a more active part in everyday life.

23.  I later asked Supt. Tan for the legal basis for the involuntary interview and drugging, he simply answered I could choose not to take the medication. Supt. Tan firmly rejected my request to make a formal complaint to Commissioner Desmond Chin against him and Dr. Lim Chee Min about the forced interview and drugging.

Abuse of psychiatry in Institution B4

24.  The situation didn’t change much after I was transferred to HU1 of B4 on April 18. Unlike officers in B2, B4 officers also kept asking me to take the medication against my will. In response to my complaint, HU1 management on the morning April 22 directed me talk to a prison physician, who claimed that Changi Prison was the guardian of prisoners so a prison officer had authority to order any prisoner to see a prison doctor against prisoner’s will. In the afternoon, I complained to my Personal Supervisor (PS) Chief Warder Lee Li Tsung about the force drugging. Despite my strong objection to psychiatric interviews, Chief Lee still suggested that I talked to the psychiatrist again in the hope to discontinue the medication. 

25.  On the morning of Mar 23, I was ordered to talk to Dr. Lim Chee Min again. I declined to take to him but he still insisted that I must take his medication. In response to my complaint, Operation Commander (OC) Calvin Tan, the person in charge of HU1, replied that I could temporarily stop the medication but must take it when I needed it.  Since I was even aware of Dr. Lim’s diagnosis and the purpose of the medication, I concluded that I was not in a position to take the medication and had a need for it. OC Calvin Tan didn’t answer. Later in the morning, Supt. Faisal talked to me and approved my request not to take medications.

26.  On May 10, Supt. Faisal finally approved my request for a transfer from HU1 to HU4 in response to my hunger strike. On the same day, I told RO Looi Wei about Supt. Faisal’s decision so HU4 officers agreed not to ask me to take the medication. On May 27, I was ordered to take a course A-ECM conducted by a female Malay trainer in her 50’s from Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE). This trainer intentionally humiliated me by asking me why “China girls spoke aloud so people didn’t like them”.

27.  She concluded Chinese had a habit of speaking loudly because China was a big country and people there had to speak loudly from one mountain to another. In addition, she used her working experience as a nurse and a hotel staff member to discriminate against Malaysian, Pilipino, Indian and Bruneian. I did my best not to lose my temper during the course but was unable to accept her humiliation. In my opinion, she made no difference from a housewife and her acted as a trainer in prison because the competitive job market outside the prison.

28.  On May 28, I requested to OC Louis Woo for a piece of paper to lodge a formal complaint against the trainer but got no response. On the morning of May 29 at 8am, I submitted to Supt. Faisal a short note about the trainer’s discrimination via RO Looi Wei Hao. To make B4 management take my complaint seriously, I put it in the note that I was considering humiliating PM Lee Hsien Loong in front of the international community.

29.  In sharp contrast to my expectation Supt. Faisal could investigate my complaint, a cooki deliberately asked me to come down to take medication at 4PM (PM medication time). I was very surprised at the request because this didn’t happen in HU4 previously. When I came down and asked who made this decision, both cooki and nurse kept silent. Chief Warder Ng Bee Teng didn’t answer my question but immediately directed me ot get back to the cell if I wouldn’t take the medication.

30.  Since B4 management deliberately persuade me to take the medication, I went on a hunger strike from the morning of May 20 in response. In the afternoon, Chief Ng Bee Teng talked told me it was the nurse who decided that I should take medication. It was clear to me that she made a false allegation because the nurse had no authority to make a cooki follow his direction. The decision must be made be Supt. Faisal because it was him who approved my request not to take the medication. 

31.  In late June, RO Looi Wei Hao told me all psychiatric interviews were scheduled by medical team but not prison officers. I told him I wouldn’t talk to any psychiatrist during my jail term and he agreed. While I had gone on hunger strikes for 5 times after I was transferred to B4 on Apr 18, I didn’t stage any hunger strike in B4 in the past two years. Nor did I submit a formal complaint letter against an inmate in B2. On the morning of Jul 22, I made a formal complaint to Supt. Faisal about malice that HU management had towards me. In the letter, I requested him to hold an inter-institute discussion with B2 officers about inmate management. I also attached a letter to Supt. Tan Bin Kiat for his order to direct Chief Daniel to take part in this discussion.

32.  In the afternoon at about 3:30pm, RO Looi Wei Hao suddenly came to the cell to check whether I was willing to talk to psychiatrists from IMH. He claimed the psychiatrists voluntarily came prison to talk to me and the prison didn’t get involve in this matter. I declined to talk to IMH psychiatrists. On the afternoon of Jul 22, Supt. Faisal suddenly talked to me about my complaint and strongly persuade me to try to stay in HU2 for a while. This decision showed clearly that Supt. Faisal attempted to transfer me to a HU for “well behaved” prisoners (most of them were drug users) to avoid the inter-institution discussion.

My suffering in HU2 caused by OC Lim Wei Kiat

33.  On the evening of Jul 22, I was transferred from 811 of HU4 to 407 of HU2. Although I applied to get back to HU4 on Jul 23, Supt. Supt. Faisal completely disregard my request and my hunger strike for the transfer. As a result, I stayed in that cell until I was forcibly transported to IMH on my release date Aug 13.

34.  I was really impressed by the anarchism, brutality and inhumanity caused by the gross competence on the part of Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Lim Wei Kiat. Unlike prison officers in B2 or HU1 or HU4 of B4, prison officers in HU2 didn’t do justice in any way. Unlike officers in B2, HU1 or HU4 of B4, HU2 officers wouldn’t handle prisoners’ complaints and disregard prisoners’ hunger strikes altogether.

35.  On Aug 8, I was ordered to see Dr. Lee Chee Min and he insisted I must see a psychiatrist from IMH on my release date. I asked for his host hospital to complain about him but he simply answers I could talk to prison officers. I have already lodged a complaint against him to DSP Loius Woo when I was in HU4 but DSP Loius Woo declined to accept my complaint and even withhold Dr. Lim’s name from me.

36.  On Aug 9, I wrote to B4 management to ensure not to talk to the IMH psychiatrist on Aug 13. On the morning of Aug 10, I submitted an urgent letter through prison guard to Chia Jin Ming Benjamin, commander of Cluster B, and Commissioner Desmond Chin. In this letter, I requested the Chnagi Prison to ensure my safety on my release date. On the afternoon, DSP Lim Wei Kiat talked to me about the interview. I told him that on Oct 28, 2016, the release date of my 1st imprisonment, I was forcibly transportation of me to IMH by B2 officers happened.

37.   

38.  While the B2 officers claimed that prison psychiatrist Rajesh Jacob didn’t diagnosed me with any mental illness and the forced transportation was meant to check my mental state by a IMH psychiatrist, IMH psychiatrist Jaydip Sarkar stated in his official report that Rajesh Jacob not only diagnosed me with delusional disorder but also prescribed antipsychotic medications. What DSP Lim interested was what happened to me after I was sent to IMH. I told him I was hospitalized first but IMH released me two weeks later in response to my hunger strike.

Forced transportation to IMH

39.  On the morning of Aug 13, the other inmate in the cell whose was to be released on the same day was released at 8am. I was detained in the cell and was told to wait for further notice. The only explanation was that the prison was about to send me to IMH. At about 10am, RO Ahmad Naufal told me to be released and claimed he was not kidding me. In response to my request to talk to Supt. Faisal about my complaint about the misconduct on the part fo B4 management, he simply answered I needed to talk to the on-duty officer at the counter of Institutional Communication Center (ICC). 

40.  When I was led to ICC, Guoh Tjin Soon, Staff Officer of Sentence Management Branch of B2, was there waiting for me to pass to me my stuff confiscated by police on Feb 28, 2019. When I asked on-duty officer Supt. Koo Boon Wah about the interview with the psychiatrist from IMH, he answered I would be sent to IMH and emphasized IMH may not hospitalize me.

41.  I wouldn’t voluntarily to sit in the wheelchair and blamed RO Ahmad Naufal for cheating me but he didn’t reply. I told Supt. Koo Boon Wah to use force on me and I wouldn’t’ resist in any way. Officer Kenneth Koh, who claimed he was the newly appointed 2nd superintendent of B4, told me he surely would forcibly transport me to IMH. I told him I was the only person in Singapore who was able to make PM Lee Hsien Loong step down and then memorized his name tag. Supt Koh walked into a room and didn’t come back. 

42.  When I sat on the chair next to the counter, Supt Koo Boon Wah said he would use reasonable force to put me in the wheelchair. In contrast to my imagination that two officers would hold me from left and right side and put me in the chair gently, three prison officer including Sergeant Ahmed Ashraf Bin Ismail from HU1 carried out the operation. The other two officers were from HU2. I didn’t see their name tags so Kenneth Koh must have told them to remove them from their uniforms. I didn’t resist in any way, however, Sergeant Ahmed Ashraf Bin Ismail deliberately folded my left wrist inwardly and that hart me. After putting me in the wheelchair, they tied both my arms and legs to the wheelchair and even put a mask on my face.

43.  At about 11:30, I was transported to IMH. The on-duty nurse John applied four-point restrain to tied up both my arms and legs to a bed in the emergency room. In the following hour and half, I was not allowed to go to toilet because nurses wouldn’t remove the restraints. When question the reason for the use of four-point restraints on me, nurse John insisted the restrains were necessary because prison officers used restraint on me and the use of restraint was for my own benefit. When questioned about the correctness of prison officer’s decision, nurse John told me to talk to doctors. At about 1pm, I finally talked to Dr. Ng Wei Lik Jared.

44.  To my surprise, Dr. Ng asked why I was sent to IMH because Dr. Lee Chee Min didn’t state the reason in his referral letter. I answered I was forcibly transported to IMH. Dr. ordered the nurse to remove the restraint and talked to me in an interview room in presence of Senior Case Manager Jasmine Soh and Senior Social Worker Keely Koh. Changi Prison also referred my case to social workers even though I was not a patient at all.

45.  First of all, Dr. Ng made it clear that I was of sound mind so no psychiatrist could conduct any interview on me without getting my informed consent. Secondly, he appeared to be particular interested in my personal matters such as my job search and whether I would continue to stay in the Yishun flat (Yishun Ave 9, BLK 249, #06-193, S’ 760249). I reminded him those questions were not medical questions. He also explained that Ms. Jasmine Soh would be happy to help me get a room if I need any help.

46.  When questioned about the inconsistency in three reports provided by IMH on my mental state, Dr. Ng explained that delusional disorder could fluctuate, so a psychiatrist must conduct a fresh psychiatric evaluation if the previous diagnoses contradicted each other. It was clear to me that a psychiatrist was not in a position to make an accurate diagnosis at all with a delusional disorder.

Conclusion

47.  According to Wikipedia, political abuse of psychiatry is the misuse of psychiatry, including diagnosis, detention, and treatment, for the purposes of obstructing the human rights of individuals and/or groups in a society. The misconduct on the part of IMH and Changi Prison certain is meant to cover up PAP government’s political scandals by maliciously diagnosing me with a delusional disorder of prosecution type.