Mah Kiat Seng, 47, was arrested on 7 Jul 2017 and subsequently transferred to a holding cell, then held in IMH as he was deemed to be of unsound mind.
However, he accused two police officers of wrongful arrest and sued the Attorney-General, who represents the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
On Thursday (19 Jan), the High Court found that Staff Sergeant Mohamed Rosli Mohamed had wrongfully arrested Mr Mah and “acted in bad faith”.
SSgt Rosli had claimed Mr Mah was muttering to himself, but this was found not to be the case.
On the day of the arrest, a woman called the police and accused a Chinese man of touching her son’s head.
SSgt Rosli and another officer, Staff Sergeant Tan Thiam Chin Lawrence, went down to the scene at Suntec City, where the woman told them a man was about to pull her son’s hair.
After she shouted at the man, he ran off.
The officers later found Mr Mah sitting at a bench outside Suntec City.
After interviewing him, SSgt Rosli apprehended and arrested Mr Mah under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.
He was brought to a police lock-up, then referred to the Institute of Mental Health. But he stayed in a padded cell until 3am before he was escorted to IMH.
Source: Google Maps
The IMH doctor was given a referral memorandum, which stated that Mr Mah was seen to have pulled the hair of a four-year-old boy, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
Based on this, she ordered Mr Mah to be detained for further assessment as he appeared to have a mental disorder.
But doctors did not find he was suffering from any mental disorder and discharged him at 7pm on 8 Jul.
In 2020, representing himself, Mr Mah sued, claiming the police officers didn’t have a right to arrest him under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.
He also claimed to have been assaulted by police officers, and that his belongings were damaged.
Additionally, he accused police officers of preventing IMH staff from discharging him.
SSgt Rosli said in an affidavit that Mr Mah had looked fidgety and appeared to be mumbling to himself at times.
However, he withdrew this after viewing body-worn camera footage, according to The Straits Times (ST).
SSgt Rosli had not in fact told his superiors in a radio call that he had been mumbling to himself.
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam said SSgt Rosli’s description was brief, only saying “he a bit… got… a bit… don’t know la… this guy,”
Though Mr Mah may have been fidgety or agitated, Justice Jeyaretnam argued that this may have been the result of suddenly being questioned by police, rather than an indication of a mental disorder.
Mumbling to himself would have constituted a belief that he was suffering from a mental disorder.
Another assertion, that Mr Mah had spit into a plastic bag, was found later to be false. Nor did he claim that he had obsessive-compulsive disorder, which SSgt Rosli had asserted.
The judge found that SSgt Rosli had made up the reasons to arrest Mr Mah out of dislike and his perceived disrespectful behaviour.
Mr Mah had reportedly not handed his identity card directly to SSgt Rosli, among other behaviours he deemed disrespectful.
This, he said, was the motivation to say Mr Mah was of unsound mind and subsequently arrest him.
“I find that Mah’s behaviour as shown in the footage did not suggest that he was dangerous to others, and as far as soundness of mind is concerned only showed a degree of eccentricity falling far short of appearing mentally disordered,” Judge Jeyaretnam said.
Judge Jeyaretnam also expressed concern that a medical report written by Dr Lin Hanjie of Healthway Medical Group may have been embellished.
A report he wrote in Sep 2017 claimed Mr Mah was constantly talking to himself and that he did not make sense.
However, CCTV footage showed Mr Mah looking at the doctor and talking to him throughout.
He also did not write about Mr Mah complaining of pain in his abdomen. He’d claimed that police officers had assaulted him.
Though Dr Lin was not the focus, Judge Jeyaretnam did raise concerns that the medical report may have been embellished to justify Mr Mah’s arrest.
“The scheme of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act depends on the integrity of the medical practitioner just as much as it depends on the integrity of the apprehending officer,”
Mr Mah’s other accusation, that he had been assaulted by Lawrence Tan Thiam Chin, was thrown out based on CCTV footage and other evidence.
Surveillance footage did not show that that Mr Tan had intentionally injured Mr Mah’s wrist and arms.
Nor was his property damaged. As such, the accusation was unsubstantiated.
However, he did assert that Mr Mah’s privacy had been invaded when his phone and bag were searched.
Judge Jeyaretnam awarded Mr Mah S20,000 in damages for false imprisonment, as he found that the police had added stress for him by handcuffing and placing him in a police cell instead of bringing him to IMH.
Mr Mah had initially claimed S4620.95 based on a case in Malaysia.
“The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act places a duty on police officers to apprehend persons believed to be a danger to themselves or others by reason of mental disorder,” he said.
It, as well, depends on police officers performing their duties in good faith.
Although he accepted that police officers need to use their judgment despite not being trained medical professionals, he still found that SSgt Rosli had lapsed and caused Mr Mah to be falsely imprisoned.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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