Tricksters feign mental illness to avoid punishment

JEDDAH: An official at Al-Amal Complex for Mental Health in Riyadh confirmed that some persons attempt to fool the officials by pretending they are mentally ill which will allow them to avoid punishment.

He noted that the majority of such persons referred to the psychiatric committees have been charged with major crimes that mandate detention.
Dr. Raed Al-Ghamdi, head of the committee at Al-Amal Complex, said that a group of those referred for rehabilitation had tried to fool the committee by claiming they were mentally ill. He said drug addicts were considered criminals unless there are other details involved in the case.
The number of criminal psychiatric committees at Al-Amal Complex during the last seven months were 80.
These committees examined prisoners and detainees in pending criminal cases. Some of those investigated claimed they were mentally ill in order to avoid criminal responsibilities, but were in fact eventually found to be mentally competent.
Al-Ghamdi said that about 158 committees were reserved for examinations but only 80 were actually held, the others not held because either the prisoners did not attend the examination session or the papers relating to the case had not been completed.
“Some of the cases are difficult and require additional study and checking as well as repeating the examination process and taking into account the observation notes and comments according to the type of crime, the history of the illness and its severity,” he said.
He noted that some cases may need only one session by the committee; others may need repeating while keeping the patient under observation for two or more months.
He said that forensic or criminal psychiatric medicine generally involved assessing the persons referred to it by judicial or forensic bodies in order to define the degree of criminal responsibility in the case.
“The committee functioning here in the complex is endorsed by the Ministry of Health and consists of specialists and counselors in addition to a chairman,” he said.
He added that the empowered bodies which request reports on criminal responsibility from the complex include the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, the courts and the governorates of the various regions.
He said the majority of cases referred to the committee come from the Ministry of Interior and involve major crimes that require detention.
“The committee first examines the patient, looks at the history of his illness, and examines his mental state depending on a number of standards and laws which define criminal responsibility,” he said.