Normal man held for 55 years in a mental institution. He was not ill..

We came across this case of a person held in a mental hospital for 55 years despite no mental illness.

Can you be held for 55 years without any charge?

Yes, if you are in Sri Lanka. Last Thursday, eighty three year old Thantriye Singho was released from police custody after 55 years. He was arrested in 1953 and all this time he was never charged with any crime.

Why was he arrested in the first place in a time so long ago that none of us can even remember? He was caught carrying a sword in a suburb near Sri Lankan capital Colomo. It is not clear if possession of sword was even a crime at that time. Soon after his arrest, the court sent him to a government hospital for psychological evaluation and treatment.

He was declared mentally healthy and transferred to regular unit of the hospital. But he spent next 55 years of his life in that hospital without the authority bringing any change against him.

A human rights group uncovered his case while doing work on mental patients. They informed the man’s relatives and got a court order for his released.

It is not the fist time this happened in Sri Lanka. Only few months ago another man was released after spending 50 years in custody without any charge. By the time he got out he was 80.