Anhui man was confined in a mental hospital for 22 days for defending his rights to compensation for a work injury, after local police forcibly sent him for treatment and prohibited his family from visiting or taking him out.
According to a report by the Land Media Elephant News on April 3, Anhui Province resident Zhang Po sought help from the media. In June 2024, he was unilaterally forced into a psychiatric hospital by local police. “I strongly opposed it, as did my family. There was no consent from the prosecutor’s office or court, yet I was forcibly sent to a mental hospital by the local public security authorities and underwent 22 days of compulsory treatment!”
Zhang Po explained that as early as 1999, he became a coal miner at the Huaihe Energy Holdings Group in Huainan City, where he was injured by a runaway mining truck while working underground. He was assessed as a fifth-level disabled person, basically losing his ability to work and receiving disability benefits, amounting to over 1,300 yuan per month.
By around 2010, the minimum living allowance in Huainan City was around 260 yuan per person per month, which was enough for his family of three to sustain their daily life with his disability benefits. However, after 2020, the living allowance had increased due to inflation to around 680 yuan per person per month, leaving him with just over 1,900 yuan after deducting various expenses, which was no longer sufficient to support his family.
In the past few years, Zhang Po’s request for an increase in disability benefits from his unit had been rejected.
On June 2, 2024, Zhang Po once again went to the entrance of the Huaihe Energy Holdings Group, holding a sign with “Real-name Reporting” written on it and filmed a video. During a dispute with unit staff who came to stop him, Zhang Po called 110 for help.
Police from the Longyu Police Station of Huainan Public Security Bureau interrogated Zhang Po and claimed that they wanted to take him to the Fourth Hospital of Huainan for psychiatric evaluation. Despite Zhang Po’s strong opposition, the police forcibly sent him to the psychiatric hospital.
The admission records showed that Zhang Po was admitted to the hospital on June 2, 2024, and discharged on June 24, staying for 22 days. The admission record also indicated: “Family members are not allowed to visit without permission from the police station.”
Zhang Po stated that he was deprived of personal freedom in the psychiatric hospital, unable to contact his family, and restrained on the bed for three to four hours, forced to take medication, and more.
After 22 days, Zhang Po was taken out of the hospital by the police and subjected to 8 days of administrative detention on charges of provocation.
Zhang Po said that despite his lack of violent tendencies or mental abnormalities, the police of the police station, against the strong objections of himself and his relatives, sent him to the psychiatric department. “During this period, my son needed to take the high school entrance examination. I repeatedly asked if I could be allowed to go out for a few days temporarily until my son finished the exam, and my wife also pleaded, but none were granted. I feel sorry for my son.”
According to a judicial appraisal opinion from a judicial appraisal institution in Anhui for Zhang Po, it was confirmed that he is not a mental patient. Elephant News reporters contacted the Longyu Police Station of Huainan Public Security Bureau, but the specific officers handling the case refused interviews.
Currently, Zhang Po is demanding an explanation from the local police and has filed a lawsuit with the local court.
This incident has sparked attention on social media.
Netizens commented: “In the past, labor reform through education could detain individuals without going through the legal system. Now, with the abolition of labor reform through education, detention is shifted to mental hospitals. If all this is true, law enforcement personnel have violated the law by illegally detaining others. Can a psychiatric hospital just detain people at will?”
“The psychiatric hospitals are filled with petitioners.” “It’s chilling to think about; if you don’t obey, you’ll be sent to a mental hospital. For those with weak resistance, even without mental illness, they can be turned into one.” “Standard practice, human as knives and fish as meat!” “I know someone who has been through this operation.” “I have been detained too and have been defending my rights ever since.” “I have relatives working in a psychiatric hospital, and I’m no longer surprised by this kind of situation.”