Pig farmer sues Chinese government after being detained in psychiatric hospital

January 21, 2013

A COURT in northeast China has begun to hear a case in which a farmer is suing government departments in an eastern city, claiming they forced him into psychiatric hospital.

Liu Gang, who ran a pig farm in Linyi City in Shandong Province, said he was admitted to a hospital's mental illness unit on September 19, 2008, reported the People's Court in Beizhen City, Liaoning Province.

Liu, a native of Beizhen, had been trying to file a complaint over the sudden deaths of his pigs following epidemic control measures by local authorities, the court heard.

Liu said he was released from the hospital on October 8, 2008, but sent there again on January 6, 2009, after asking for an "explanation" from the bureau of complaints and civil affairs over the first admission. His second stay lasted 36 days.

On Friday, the defendant and plaintiff argued whether Liu's personal freedom was illegally restricted and whether he suffered from mental illness. Both parties agreed for Liu to take psychiatric tests.

Source: "Pig farmer sues gov't after forced into 'psychiatric hospital'," Sina, January 20, 2013.