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Ministry prevents escape of criminal responsibilities because of mental illness |
The Ministry of Health has just sent an official dispatch to health departments in provinces and cities and functional bodies requesting to strengthen management and direction in the field of forensic assessment and forensic psychiatric assessment.
According to the Ministry of Health, some people have lately taken advantage of their mental health records to commit crimes or escape crimes, causing frustration in society and difficulties for prosecution agencies in investigating and handling cases.
For transparent forensic examination and forensic psychiatric assessment in compliance with the present regulations and to deter people from taking advantage of the loophole by falsifying mental health records, the Ministry of Health requested medical centers to seriously comply with regulations on medical examination and treatment, storing medical records and issuing mental health records summaries of patients.
Heads of these centers shall be held accountable before the law if the summary of mental health records is not true to help people be exempt from criminal responsibilities.
Psychiatrists from the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, the Bien Hoa Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, and the regional Forensic Psychiatric Center make an effort to evaluate the mental status of defendants at the time of the offense precisely and objectively.
