Katoeys are not ‘psychotic’: court
THAILAND: The Defence Ministry’s conscription records that described transvestites as people with a “permanent mental disorder” were revoked by the Administrative Court on Tuesday.
Thursday 15 September 2011, 03:38PM
The courts also urged the ministry to improve the ministerial regulation statement specifying that transvestites had “a sexuality that doesn’t match the inborn gender”, to make it more accurate.
The Nation newspaper reported that transvestite Samart Meecharoen had filed a petition in court against the Defence Minister, Army Reserve Command and Lop Buri Registrar to revoke the conscription records, which described him as “psychotic”.
Mr Samart claimed the label was a violation of human integrity and prevented him from working in the civil service. The court agreed, citing medical opinion that transvestites who had yet to undergo a sex-change operation but chose a breast-enhancement procedure were not “psychotic”.
