HKSAR v. HENNING, FREDRIK ULF

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO.297 OF 1998

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J U D G M E N T

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The facts

1. The Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage and one count of common assault in the Magistrate's Court. On 11th March 1998, the Magistrate ordered the Appellant to serve a hospital order of four months at the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre.

2. The facts showed that the Appellant on 22nd February 1998 used a golf stick to damage some plants, a spot light and a traffic sign at the garden podium outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Two days later, the Appellant turned up at the Grand Hyatt Hotel entrance. He used a tennis racket to hit a golf ball at an security guard of the hotel.

3. The medical report obtained by the Magistrate revealed that the Appellant was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The Magistrate had dealt with the Appellant in another offence in January 1998. Medical reports were obtained Although the recommendation from the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre was for an hospital order, the Magistrate imposed a fine and the Appellant was released. The present offences were committed shortly after the first offence.

New medical report

4. The medical report which I have ordered for this case showed that the Appellant had suffered from mental illness in 1995. During his remand in relation to the offences he had pleaded guilty to, there were signs of violence and disruptive behaviour in the psychiatric centre. According to the reports, he broke the buckets in the cell and the shield of a close-circuit television. Dr Lau stated that:

"Assessment show thought disorder and persecutory belief. He was treated with medication accordingly.

His mental condition improved with treatment. His speech was relevant and coherent. Mood was neutral and there is no persecutory belief. However, his insight towards his illness is limited. He thought that he had recovered and he attributed the index offence as an ordinary 'reaction'.

In my opinion, Mr HENNING is suffering from a mental illness, namely schizophrenia. He was violent, agitated with marked thought disorder and persecutory delusion during relapses, which implied potential dangerousness. In addition, his limited insight suggested that the illness is not in full remission. Given his previous history of defaulting follow-up, current poor insight and social support after discharge, hospital order of four months in Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre for stabilization is necessary."

Sentence appropriate

5. The hospital order of four months made by the Magistrate was clearly an appropriate one. I have considered very carefully the Appellant's request that he be released so that he could return to Sweden. I think in the light of the medical assessment, for his own good and for the safety of the public, the Appellant should continue to receive treatment in the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre as recommended by the doctors. Accordingly, I will dismiss the appeal.