A MAGISTRATE had no power to send a former government doctor to a psychiatric centre for non-payment of eight fixed-penalty tickets, the High Court was told yesterday.
Senior Crown counsel, Mr Christopher Coghlan, conceded that the hospital order against 40-year-old Lee Yue-tung, who suffers from schizophrenia, should not be allowed to stand.
Setting aside the three-month hospital order, Mr Justice Wong said the magistrate was acting outside his jurisdiction.
He was satisfied, however, that the magistrate had acted out of good intentions.
The judge added that he was glad Lee was now willing to undertake psychiatric treatment.
The court heard that eight fixed-penalty tickets dated between October 7, 1988, and February 10, 1989, had been issued against Lee, a government doctor until 1984.