香港案例TUNG LAI LAM v ORIENTAL PRESS GROUP LTD.docx

香港案例TUNG LAI LAM v ORIENTAL PRESS GROUP LTD.docx

《香港案例TUNG LAI LAM v ORIENTAL PRESS GROUP LTD.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《香港案例TUNG LAI LAM v ORIENTAL PRESS GROUP LTD.docx（20页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

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