A special day at the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry
The Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry (Hanoi) - which used to operate almost confidentially with a special nature of work - has now become the focus of public opinion after a series of shocking prosecutions. More than 30 officials, including those holding key positions, are being investigated for being involved in negativity in the psychological assessment of criminals. However, behind those already closed doors, a new cycle of filming is still quietly continuing.
A mental health record repair ring to help criminals escape criminal responsibility has just been exposed by the authorities. Dozens of officials of the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry were prosecuted, including those who played a key role.
According to the initial investigation results, the treatment book of a subject who had committed a crime of organizing illegal use of drugs was edited to legalize the conclusion of "losing the ability to control behavior". An examiner arbitrarily added the words "with constant ao sound" - an important detail leading to the conclusion that he was psychotic and qualified to apply compulsory treatment measures.
However, behind this conclusion is a chain of organized supporting behavior. Before the final meeting of the appraisal council, the appraiser, secretary and department head received bribes from the hospital head to "amend the conclusion". The secretary received 20 million VND, the head of the department received 30 million VND. With the addition of a few "emotional" details to the file, the subject from " limiting cognitive ability" has been raised to the level of "losing the ability to control behavior" - qualified to escape criminal liability.
An examiner admitted: This is very difficult, because there is no machine to verify it. We only intervene a little, to meet the mandatory treatment standards".
According to regulations, the psychiatric assessment process must comply with international standards, in which techniques such as magnetic resonance or electrocardiography only play a supporting role. The most important thing is the process of monitoring clinical symptoms and studying the patient's previous records. This creates a gap in the conclusion and understanding between the appraiser and the offender.
The investigation agency determined that each case of being "cased" could bring billions of dong to the leadership group. This amount was divided among the members of the appraisal council through the director. They intentionally recorded incorrect medical conditions or added fake manifestations to the records to legalize the assessment.
From June 17, Meritorious Doctor Phan Kim Thin - Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry - was transferred by the Ministry of Health from the North Central Institute to Hanoi, temporarily taking on all management work here. According to Mr. Thin, the incident happened suddenly, like a big shock, a big surprise for the hospital staff.
Currently, in addition to the legal shock, the officials are also greatly affected psychologically when many close colleagues are also prosecuted. The hospital had to immediately mobilize human resources from other departments, even increasing nearly 10 doctors and nurses from the North Central region to support.
The Institute currently receives and manages 96 male and 19 female patients subject to compulsory treatment; along with 43 cases being monitored for criminal examination by the police of provinces and cities.
At this time, medical staff are still examining and treating mentally ill patients with a history of committing crimes - who can have a shock attack at any time. The atmosphere at the hospital was both tense and depressed. Nurses and doctors are both professional and have to regulate their psychology when they see their colleagues being taken to work with the police, and patients cannot stop needing care.
Management loopholes?
The biggest loophole lies in the current regulations of the Ministry of Health when the appraisal authority is only given to one agency, lacking an independent review and appraisal mechanism. The Ministry of Health needs to adjust the appraisal process, strengthen inspection and allow re-appraisal when there are questions, to ensure publicity and transparency.
According to Decision 2999/QD-BYT in 2022, forensic psychiatric examination consists of 12 steps.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Nghi - Head of the Department, Department of Rehabilitation and Assessment, Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) - said that on August 28, 2019, the Ministry of Health issued Circular 23/2019/TT-BYT, regulating the forensic psychiatric assessment process and uniform application form in the whole industry. The process includes steps from receiving documents, examining, consulting to concluding the assessment, to ensure objectivity and compliance with the law.
The Circular also stipulates a standard form system to avoid errors, prevent the abuse of appraisal conclusions to evade criminal liability. The Circular takes effect from October 16, 2019.
However, in recent times, the fields of forensic examination, forensic psychiatry and compulsory treatment have continuously occurred violations such as bribery, forgery of medical records, illegal use of drugs... causing public outrage. In this situation, the Ministry of Health requires relevant units to seriously implement Directive 07/CT-BYT, ensure an objective and legal appraisal process; strictly manage patients, tighten the issuance of documents related to mental health and strictly handle all violations to maintain discipline and transparency.
The units must ensure objective appraisal, in accordance with the law; the appraiser must be qualified and only hand over the conclusion in accordance with regulations. Treatment facilities are required to strictly manage patients, install enough cameras, three layers of safe doors and coordinate with the police when an incident occurs. Hospitals and clinics are only granted mental documents in accordance with regulations, the head is responsible for any violations.
Two years after the inauguration
On June 1, 2023, specialist II Tran Van Truong was officially appointed as Director of the Central Institute of Forensic psychiatry. Speaking on receiving the assignment, the new Director expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the Ministry of Health and all cadres and civil servants in the hospital. He pledged to devote all his heart, intelligence and determination to excellently fulfilling the assigned responsibilities. However, less than two years later, that image had completely collapsed.
In the case of "running" the conclusion of a psychiatric assessment to evade criminal liability, 36 officials of the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry were prosecuted, including the couple of Director Tran Van Truong.
