AN application by a mother to have her son admitted to the Observation Ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital was yesterday denied by Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. Sattie Chatterpaul, of 38 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, made the application for her son, 42-year-old Jaiprakash Chatterpaul, of the same address, to be taken to the Observation Ward of the hospital.

When the magistrate inquired from her the reason for her request, the woman responded that her son was acting in a strange manner for the past three weeks.
The mother also told the court that her son has lost his job and has issues with neighbours.
Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry expressed shock at the woman’s reason for declaring her son mad, and was visibly upset as she informed the woman that the reasons for her action are invalid.
The magistrate then asked the woman’s son if he thought he was mad and he responded in the negative. The man was well-dressed and answered intelligently all that he was asked.
“We all have stresses in life, but that doesn’t make us mad,” the magistrate told the mother, adding that some parents pronounce their children mad at an early age so as to shirk their responsibilities.
She advised the woman to take her son to a doctor if he is suffering from stress, and promised to give her another hearing in the future should her son become worse.
The magistrate told her that everyone deals with stress differently and that some people have a higher stress tolerance than others.
The woman was informed that this is not the appropriate time for the man to be admitted to the Observation Ward.