Admission of convicted persons for observation

(1) Where it is represented to the Minister that any person undergoing sentence in any prison or other place of confinement appears to be of unsound mind, but that the Superintendent of Prisons or other officer in charge thereof and such medical practitioner as he may have called to his assistance are unable to certify that the person in question is of unsound mind, it shall nevertheless be lawful for the Minister by warrant to direct the removal of that person from the prison or other place of confinement to the Mental Hospital, and that person shall be removed and conveyed to the Mental Hospital accordingly and therein kept under observation until such time as the Director of Health Services certifies to the Minister that he is satisfied as to the state of mind of that person. (2) If and when the Director of Health Services is satisfied that such person is of sound mind, he shall certify accordingly to the Minister and shall state in his certificate whether in his opinion such person has been of unsound mind at any time subsequent to the passing of the sentence, and upon receipt of such certificate, the Minister shall, by warrant under his hand, direct, (a) if the term of imprisonment of such person has expired, that such person be discharged; (b) if such person still remains liable to imprisonment or other sentence, that he be removed to the appropriate prison or place to undergo such sentence, or, if not under sentence to be dealt with according to law, as if no warrant for his removal to a hospital had been issued.