A college student yesterday accused his father of poisoning him and forcing him to be treated in the psychiatric department of a hospital after he told this parents that he might be homosexual.

Su Ming-che displays a pill yesterday that he says Shin Kong Hospital officials tried to make him swallow to treat his "psychological disorder". Su has accused his parents of poisoning him and falsely claiming he was mentally ill.  -- Taipei Times

Su Ming-che, 22, a student at National Chengchi University, made the accusations at a press conference in Taipei organized by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher .

Su said that after he told his family members that he might be gay, he had been unable to win their understanding.

"On April 29, when my parents and I were having drinks in a coffeeshop, my drink was poisoned. I was then sent to Shin Kong Hospital in an ambulance," he said.

"I read from my case report that my parents were demanding that I be hospitalized," he said.

During the 56 days he was in the hospital, the doctor examined him but didn't make any diagnosis, Su said, adding that he had refused to take medications while in was in the hospital.

"I pretended to take pills at 9pm every night but then spit them out after the nurse left. I wanted to prove that I was not ill," he said.

He added that he had gone to three other hospitals for a psychiatric examination after he was released from Shin Kong, and they all told him he was normal.

Several days ago, Su filed a lawsuit against his father, accusing him of domestic violence in relation to the alleged poisoning, and one against Shin Kong Hospital, accusing it of violating the Mental Health Act's stipulations on hospitalizing psychiatric patients.

According to a story in yesterday's Chinese-language Apple Daily, Su's father said that his son had mental problems and needed to be hospitalized for psychiatric care.

"I can't forgive him for suing a family member. Can he say that he is not sick after he has accused his family?" the newspaper quoted Su's father as saying.

During the press conference, Huang called on the government to reflect on whether the process for hospitalizing psychiatric patients was flawed. 

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A 22 year old Taiwanese university student has disowned his parents and is suing a psychiatric hospital after being put through what he calls a forced bid to turn him heterosexual.

At a Taipei news conference, the young man, identified only by his given name Su, said he was drugged, taken to Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital and held against his will in its psychiatric ward for 56 days.

The Taiwan News reports that Su told reporters that his problems began last year when his parents discovered he is gay.

In April, he said, he had breakfast with his parents at a Taipei coffee shop. He left the table to use the washroom and on his return he said he noticed some white powder on the rim of his coffee cup but, thinking nothing of it, drank his coffee.

Shortly after, he said, he passed out and was taken to Shin Kong Hospital.

The young man said that as he regained consciousness he heard a doctor telling him "Your father put drugs in your coffee but it is all for your own good."

Su accuses the hospital of locked him up in a psychiatric ward claiming he was suffering from bipolar disorder and hallucinations.

He did not say what treatment he was given, but told reporters that he was eventually released.

To prove that he was not mentally unstable, after leaving Shin Kong, The Taiwan News reports that Su obtained certificates of diagnosis from Taipei City Hospital and National Taiwan University Hospital both of which said he was mentally sound was and was not behaving unusually.

While Su's lawsuit proceeds the government has begun its own investigation.

Under Taiwanese law family members can have someone placed against their will in a psychiatric facility but only after they have been assessed by at least two psychiatrists.