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S'pore man says no proof that human minds exist, sues IMH, PM Wong & others for warding him
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung were listed as defendants.
Khine Zin Htet
May 22, 2026, 05:24 PM
A man in Singapore was detained and treated at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) after being arrested for wrongfully confining an individual.
He was warded in IMH two more times subsequently.
Dissatisfied, the man brought the hospital to court, along with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, the Attorney-General, and four other individuals.
High court judge Andre Maniam ultimately dismissed the man's applications in a judgment dated May 21, 2026, finding that the injunction he sought against IMH was contrary to law and to public interest.
The judge also found that the man had sued the other remaining defendants because he wanted to "get their attention".
Background
In July 2024, Frank Lee was arrested for wrongfully confining a woman (whom he listed as the seventh defendant).
This led to him being warded in IMH from Jul. 19 to Aug. 6, 2024.
He was also warded in IMH on two subsequent occasions, from Nov. 21 to Dec. 11, 2024, and from Apr. 17 to May 5, 2025.
He then filed a suit on Apr. 6, 2026, saying in a lengthy 135-page statement of claim that he is not seeking compensation.
He said: “Compensation for the things done to me does not exist, and so I am not seeking compensation through this lawsuit. This lawsuit’s primary goal is to prevent the things that were done to me from being done to others in Singapore.”
Instead, he puts forward two claims:
- "An injunction against the IMH prohibiting it from ever confining anyone ever again, protecting me from further harm and hurt."
- "A declaration outlining the truth as to what was done to [seventh defendant] and I, and any other person who cares about me and/or is sad that its relationship with me disappeared as a result of the IMH’s actions”.
Lee also claimed that there are "hundreds of human beings suffering at the hands of IMH employees" in similar ways he has.
Claimed "truths" about psychiatry
In his statement of claims, Lee had included a 41-page affidavit titled, “The Truth About Psychiatry”.
There, he outlined how "psychiatry is harming human beings," and why it is the "most evil hoax in the history of mankind".
Amongst other "truths", Lee said that "the existence of a human 'mind' and the existence of diseases of such a mind are beliefs, not facts".
He also claimed that psychiatry is neither a science nor a form of medicine or healthcare and that psychiatrists are neither doctors nor scientists.
Furthermore, he said that the facilities society refers to as “Mental Health Hospitals” are not hospitals, but are "more accurately referred to as Involuntary Human Alteration Facilities".
Injunction and declaration both unsustainable
Judge Maniam found that the injunction Lee sought was unsustainable.
He noted that the IMH says that it provides hospital services, including but not limited to specialised psychiatric services, and owns, manages and operates the hospital by the same name.
The institution was designated to be a psychiatric institution for the detention and treatment of mentally disordered persons under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008 (MHCTA).
According to the judge, Lee did not accept that the IMH can detain or treat anyone, as he said that the existence of the human mind, and consequently the existence of mental diseases, are not facts.
Lee said that if the IMH wants the court to believe in the existence of the human mind and the like, then IMH has to prove to the court that those exist as a matter of fact.
He said further, “I’m not stating that humans do not have minds, I’m just the neutral party factually stating that there is no proof for the existence of such a thing.”
However, Judge Maniam noted that Singapore's Parliament and the courts have accepted the existence of the human mind and mental disorders.
"The MHCTA is premised on the existence of the human mind and mental disorders. So too are other pieces of legislation," he said.
“Parliament did not pass all these laws in vain, which is what the claimant suggests in saying that there is no proof that the human mind exists," he added.
He also found Lee's claim for a declaration similarly flawed.
Striked out statement of claim
The judge said that Lee's statement of claim is also an abuse of process of the court, and that it is in the interests of justice to strike out the statement of claim.
Lee's statement of claim only includes claims against IMH, and not against any other defendant, he noted.
He noted that Lee had sued the remaining defendants because he wanted to get their attention, but that is not a legitimate reason to sue someone.
His motives are evident, the judge said, citing his letters included in the statement of claim to the defendants.
"It is inappropriate to use a statement of claim for correspondence, and to sue people so that they will receive (and, hopefully, read) such correspondence," the judge said.
Lee was ultimately ordered to pay the IMH costs of S$47,000 and to pay the government defendants costs of S$27,000.
