香港案例TUNG LAI LAM v ORIENTAL PRESS GROUP LTD.docx
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香港案例TUNGLAILAMvORIENTALPRESSGROUPLTD
DCEO5/2009
INTHEDISTRICTCOURTOFTHE
HONGKONGSPECIALADMINISTRATIVEREGION
香港特别行政区，公平机会2009年第五号法案
EQUALOPPORTUNITIESACTIONNO.5OF2009
_____________
BETWEEN
TUNGLAILAMPlaintiff
and
ORIENTALPRESSGROUPLIMITED1stDefendant
THESUNNEWSPUBLISHEDLIMITED2ndDefendant
_____________
Coram:
HHJudgeLokinCourt
Datesofhearing:
7&8December2010
DateofhandingdownofJudgment:
27January2011
_________________________
JUDGMENT
_________________________
1.IamgiventounderstandthatthisisthefirstdisabilityvilificationclaiminHongKongunders.46oftheDisabilityDiscriminationOrdinance,Cap.497（“theDDO”）.Atleast,thisisthefirstcasethathasendedupwithatrialinthecourt.
TheArticleinissue
2.“TheSun”isanewspaperwidelycirculatedinHongKong.On9September2006,anarticlewiththetitle“醫局規劃發神經病房逼到人都癲”（translatedas“HospitalAuthority’sPlanGotInsane-CrowdedWardsDrivePeopleCrazy”）waspublishedinTheSun（“theArticle”）.AsthecontentsofthewholeArticlearerelevantforthepurposeoftheclaim,IneedtosetouttheArticleinfull:
“醫局規劃發神經病房逼到人都癲
香港原來真係好多人有精神病，又有好多平時少聽嘅醫學術語漸漸平民化。
譬如話「思覺失調」，十年前邊有聽過，家陣係人都識，而且似乎幾普遍添。
前一排著名填詞人林夕又現身說法，話長期肚瀉未必係腸胃病咁簡單，可能係患上焦慮症，如無對症下藥，隨時令精神病惡化。
至於籠統所稱嘅精神病，可以話係「梗有一個喺左近」。
久不久就有瘋漢瘋婦大鬧呢度嗰度，玩完危站玩跳海，再唔係就斬父弒母殺子女，諗起都毛管戙。
咁多精神病，醫管局係咪要好好處理呢？
梗係要啦。
而實際上九龍醫院今年七月就開咗一間九龍精神科觀察治療中心，美其名為提升精神科服務，接收伊利沙伯醫院、聯合醫院及將軍澳醫院的急性精神科病人。
該中心設有四間禁閉式病房，每間病房提供四十五張病床，睇落似乎冇乜問題。
叮！
原來問題非常大！
有護士踢爆，該中心一開張即滿瀉，每間病房一直超收至七十多名病人，使用率高達百分之一百五十。
每間病房被迫加開近三十張帆布病床，其中走廊的八張帆布病床擺放至廁所門口，病房內作為病人飯堂的電視房，亦同樣擺滿八至十張帆布病床。
公屋嘅擠迫戶，成日都聽聞有住客因為生活空間太狹窄而逼到人都癲，輕則口角，重則動武。
卻原來，連精神病房也有擠迫戶，住客個個精神本已有問題，豈不逼到癲上加癲！
計太一叮話齋，最癲嗰個係醫管局，規劃上簡直發神經。
當年醫管局規劃九龍中醫院聯網的精神科服務時，九龍醫院除接收葵涌醫院病人外，原來只負責油麻地、尖沙咀及九龍城區的急症精神科病人，但院方管理層只顧擴展部門爭取撥款，願意兼顧九龍東人口，九龍醫院由本來僅須照顧五十萬人，突然暴升至一百四十六萬人，吖，醫管局居然照准。
簡單講句，相關人等嚴重錯誤評估實際情況。
喂，逼到爆已經夠慘，飯堂缺乏急救設備，萬一病人有乜依郁，施救會唔會倒瀉煲粥？
更荒謬嘅係，院方近日「放風」，話每間病房收症人數可能達八十人，超收接近八成，發神經唔使發到咁離譜啩！
醫管局行政總裁蘇利民乃係澳洲人，家鄉地廣人稀，袋鼠多過人，冇理由會容忍醫院出現擠迫戶，咁點解精神病房會逼到爆？
太一叮諗到兩個原因，一係佢入鄉隨俗，覺得你哋地少人多嘅香港都逼到慣啦，醫病唔怕再逼一逼；一係佢近朱者赤，近瘋者癲，處理精神病問題多咗，連自己都癲埋。
唉，兩個字，黐線！
”
TheEnglishtranslationofthecontentsoftheArticleisasfollows:
“HospitalAuthority’sPlanGotInsane
CrowdedWardsDrivePeopleCrazy
HongKongactuallyhasalotofpeoplewithpsychiatricillnesses,andalotoftimestherearelittle-knownmedicaltermsthatarenowordinarilyused.Forexample‘psychosis’,tenyearsagoitwasneverheardof,noweveryoneknowsandapparentlyseemstobecommonlyused.Recently,thefamoussongwriterLamJik（‘AlbertLeung’）hasmadeanappearancetosaythatchronicdiarrhoeamaynotbeexplainedsimplybyagastro-intenstinalinfection,butmaybeananxietydisorderinstead.Ifnotproperlytreated,thementaldisordermayworsenanytime.Astopsychiatricillnesseswhichtheyaregenerallysocalled,itcouldbesaidthat‘thereisalwaysonenearby’.Everynowandthenthereisacrazymanorcrazywomanwreakinghavochereandthere,playingsuicidebyjumpingoffbuildingsorintothesea,orelsetheyarechoppinguptheirfather,killingtheirmother,murderingtheirchildren;justthinkingaboutitmakingonehair’sstand.
Withsomanypsychiatricillnesses,shouldn’ttheHospitalAuthoritybehandlingthemcarefully?
Ofcoursetheyshould,andinfactKowloonHospitalopenedupaPsychiatricEvaluationandTreatmentCentrethisJuly;puttingitnicely,it’sforincreasingtheservicestothementallyill,receivingpatientswithacutepsychiatricillnessfromQueenElizabethHospital,UnitedHospitalandTseungKwanOHospital.TheCentreisequippedwithfourisolationwards,eachroomprovidingforty-fivebeds,seemslikethereshouldbenoproblem.
Damn!
There’sactuallyareallybigproblem!
Somenurseshaveexposedthetruth,theCentrehadbeenoverflowingsinceitopened,everywardconstantlyover-admitsuptoseventy-somethingpatients,raisingtheutilityrateto150%.Everywardhasbeenforcedtoopenuptothirtyextracanvascots,eightcotsinthecorridorsareplacedinfrontofthelavatorydoors,thetelevisionroomsinthepatients’canteenisinsteadsituatedinsidepatients’rooms,whichitselfiscrammedwitheighttotencots.
Withovercrowdedpublichousing,wealwayshearnewsthatthecrampedlivingspacedrivestheoccupantscrazy,causingthemtobickerandquarreloften,escalatingtoviolenceinmoreserioussituations.Yet,eventhepsychiatricwardshaveovercrowdedhouseholds.Aseachoftheinmatesalreadyhasmentalproblems,wouldn’ttheover-crowdednessaddmadnessontopofmadness!
In‘TaiYatDing’s’opinion,thecraziestmustbetheHospitalAuthority,simplycrazyintheirplanning.BackwhentheHospitalAuthorityplannedforpsychiatricservicesintheKowloonHospitalnetwork,otherthantakinginpatientsfromKwaiChungHospital,theywereonlyresponsibleforYauMaTei,TsimShaTsuiandKowloonCity’sacutepsychiatricillnesspatients,butthehospitalmanagementonlycaredaboutexpandingtheirdepartmentsandreceivinggreaterfundingallocations,theywerewillingtoaccepttheKowloonEastpopulationtoo;originallyKowloonHospitalwastocareforhalfamillionpeople,suddenlyexplodedupto1.46millionpeople,gee,theHospitalAuthorityunexpectedlyallowedit.
Hey,it’sbadenoughbeingcrammeduntilbursting,thecanteenlacksemergencymedicalfacilities,whatifsomethinghappenstoapatient,whensavingthemwilltheyspillmybowlofcongee?
Evenmoreabsurdly,thehospitalhasrecently‘letthecatoutofthebag’,thateverywardmaytakeuptoeightypatients,almosteightypercentinovercapacity,evenifyou’recrazyyoucan’tbesoridiculouslyinsane!
HospitalAuthorityChiefExecutiveShaneSolomonisanAustralian,hishomelandisspaciousandsparselypopulated,withmorekangaroosthanpeople,nowaywouldhetoleratesuchovercrowdinginahospital.Sowhyarethepsychiatricwardscrammedfulltobursting?
TaiYatDingcouldthinkoftworeasons,oneis‘WheninRome,doasRomansdo’,hethinksthatyouguysinHongKonghavesparselandandalargepopulationsoyoushouldalreadybeaccustomedtothecrampedconditions,there’snoharmincrampingitupabitwhentreatingillnesses;orelse,aspeople‘wouldbestainedredbystayingnearreddye’,hehadrubbedoffmadnessbybeingnearthemad.Hemighthavebecomecrazyasaresultofhandlinganincreasingnumberofissuesrelatingtomentalillness.（Sigh）,twowords:
crazy!
”
ThenatureofthePlaintiff’sclaim
3.ThePlaintiffisamentalpatientwhowasdiagnosedtohavesufferedfrommixedanxietyanddepressivedisorderin1999.Hewasadmittedtohospitalsforin-patienttreatmentsfor6timesfrom2002to2006.Sincethelastdischargefromhospitalin2006,thePlaintiffhasbeenreceivingregularfollow-uptreatmentsfordelusionaldisorderandrecurrentdepressivedisorder.Heisstillsufferingfromthesaiddisability.ThereisnodisputethatthePlaintiffisapersonwithadisabilitywithinthemeaningoftheDDO.
4.Sometimein2007,hereadtheArticleintheSun.Hefeltinsulted,angeredanddistressedbythecontentsoftheArticle.WiththelegalassistanceprovidedbytheEqualOpportunitiesCommission,hecommencedthepresentactionofdisabilityvilificationunders.46oftheDDOagainstthe1stDefendant,whichisapubliclistedcompanywhichownsTheSunthoughitssubsidiarycompany,andthe2ndDefendant,whichistheregisteredproprietor,publisherandprinterofTheSunundertheRegistrationofLocalNewspapersOrdinance,Cap.268（“theRLNO”）.
5.Inthisaction,thePlaintiffclaimsthatthefollowing3statementsintheArticle（“the3Statements”）constitutedisabilityvilificationagainstpersonswithmentalillnessincludinghimself:
（i）“至於籠統所稱嘅精神病，可以話係「梗有一個喺左近」。
久不久就有瘋漢瘋婦大鬧呢度嗰度，玩完危站玩跳海，再唔係就斬父弒母殺子女，諗起都毛管戙。
”（“the1stStatement”）
（Astopsychiatricillnesseswhichtheyaregenerallysocalled,itcouldbesaidthat“thereisalwaysonenearby”.Everynowandthenthereisacrazymanorcrazywomanwreakinghavochereandthere,playingsuicidebyjumpingoffbuildingsorintothesea,orelsetheyarechoppinguptheirfather,killingtheirmother,murderingtheirchildren;justthinkingaboutitmakingonehair’sstand.）
（ii）“卻原來，連精神病房也有擠迫戶，住客個個精神本已有問題，豈不逼到癲上加癲！
”（“the2ndStatement”）
（Yet,eventhepsychiatricwardshaveovercrowdedhouseholds.Aseachoftheinmatesalreadyhasmentalproblems,wouldn’ttheover-crowdednessaddmadnessontopofmadness!
）
（iii）“一係佢近朱者赤，近瘋者癲，處理精神病問題多咗，連自己都癲埋。
唉，兩個字，黐線！
”（“the3rdStatement”）
（Orelse,aspeople“wouldbestainedredbystayingnearreddye”,hehadrubbedoffmadnessbybeingnearthemad.Hemighthavebecomecrazyasaresultofhandlinganincreasingnumberofissuesrelatingtomentalillness.（Sigh）,twowords:
crazy!
）
6.AccordingtothePlaintiff,the1stStatementdepictsafalseandexaggeratedpictureofpersonswithmentalillness.Ittendstogiveanordinaryreadertheimpressionthatmentalpatientsareviolentlunaticswhowouldinjureorkillotherpeopleatwill,andthusstimulatesinthereaderfearorhatredtowardspersonswithmentalillnessorheightensthosefeelings.Astothe2ndStatement,thePlaintiffsaysthattheword“癲”（madness）andthephrase“癲上加癲”（addmadnessontopofmadness）areinsultingdescriptionsofmentalpatients.Readinginconjunctionwiththe1stStatement,the2ndStatementencouragesacontemptuousanddegradingopiniontowardspersonswithmentalillness.Finally,the3rdStatement,whichistheconcludingsentenceoftheArticle,tendstogiveanordinaryreadertheincorrectimpressionthatmentalillnessisinfectious.Itdissimulatesthemessagethatpersonswithmentalillnesscanadverselyaffectpeoplearoundthembyt
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