Re: Fu Min Lei
ORB File No: 8858
Hearing held on: Friday, October 24, 2025
Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby
Pursuant to: Section 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. J. Mills Members: Dr. W. Johnston Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Ms. M. Chamberlain Ms. R. Chopra
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Fu Min Lei Counsel: Mr. T. Whillier
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Szabo
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated November 26, 2025)
Introduction
On September 12, 2025, Fu Min Lei was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of sexual assault, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”). The Court declined to make a disposition and referred the matter to the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”).
On October 24, 2025, a panel of the Board convened at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores” or the “hospital”) to hold a hearing pursuant to s. 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Lei was present for his hearing and was represented by counsel throughout the proceedings. A Cantonese language interpreter was present and assisted Mr. Lei throughout the proceedings.
The issues to be determined are whether Mr. Lei poses a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage that risk having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
At the commencement of the hearing counsel for the hospital submitted that Mr. Lei represents a significant threat to the safety of the public and should be detained within the Forensic Service at Ontario Shores with privileges up to and including the ability to exercise passes for up to 72 hours within a 150 kilometre radius of the hospital indirectly supervised, and with prohibitions to abstain from substance use and to provide samples for urinalysis and to refrain from having in his possession weapons and or firearms. Counsel for the Attorney General agreed with the hospital’s submission but recommended that Mr. Lei be detained on the Secure Forensic Unit. Counsel for Mr. Lei advised that Mr. Lei wishes to return home. All parties maintained their respective positions in closing submissions.
For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that Mr. Lei represents a significant threat to the safety of the public and should be detained on the Forensic Service at Ontario Shores with the privileges and prohibitions as outlined above.
Evidence at the Hearing
- The Board received documentary evidence in the form of a Notice of Hearing, Warrant of Committal, Information, DNA Order, Criminal Record, Fitness Assessment Report dated December 12, 2024, NCR Report dated June 11, 2025, and the Hospital Report dated October 2, 2025, NCR Reasons for Judgement, September 12, 2025, and Victim Impact Statement of H.C., marked as Exhibits 1 through 10 respectively. The Board also had viva voce testimony from Dr. C. Harrigan, who co-authored the Hospital Report.
Index Offence
- The circumstances of the index offence are excerpted from the Hospital Report, as follows: “On Wednesday October 16, 2024, officers were called to “redacted” for a report of a sexual assault call. Officers arrived on scene and spoke to the victim C.M.C. who goes by H.
H. advised she was at the T&T Supermarket located at 9255 Woodbine Ave in Markham on today’s date doing her grocery shopping. H. was in the produce section selecting items, while walking back to her cart with the items she was grabbed by her genitals over her pants by a male unknown to her. H. was startled and hit the man in reaction to the grab and started yelling at him. The man then attempted to kick H. as she was yelling at him.
The family of the man came over right away to stop the interaction and advised that the man was unwell and there was no need to call the Police. A female led the man away from H. The store manager Jason Chen attended and took everyone’s information. H. advised she did not know the man and had never seen him before.
Officers attended the supermarket to speak with Jason for further information. Jason had the video of the incident for officers to view. Times on the video matched with real time and the assault took place at 14:40 hours and was captured on camera B9. A request was sent to T&T head office for a copy of the incident. The male appeared to be wearing a grey jacket and dark-coloured pants.
Through investigative checks the male was identified as FU MIN LEI. Mr. Lei is known to police for previous sexual assault charges….”
Mr. Lei’s history and background information is at times inconsistently reported. In brief, Mr. Lei is 49 years old. He was born in mainland China. He moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was 13 years old. Mr. Lei has one older sister. In 2000, the family emigrated to Canada. Later that same year his father returned to Hong Kong and began to travel back and forth between Hong Kong and Canada. Mr. Lei’s family retained property in Hong Kong. Mr. Lei’s last visited Hong Kong and mainland China two years prior to the index offence. Mr. Lei has lived with his family throughout his life, with the exception of a brief period in 2005, when he lived in a group home after his discharge from Ontario Shores.
Mr. Lei attended school in Hong Kong. He reports secondary education studying Chinese, English and mathematics and a degree in mechanical engineering (it is unclear whether his was part of a high school program or post secondary education). Mr. Lei reports leaving school when he was 25 years old.
Mr. Lei worked in Hong Kong for the public transit authority in the bus division, where he repaired air conditioning systems. He estimated that he began this job around 28 years of age and remained employed there for approximately four years. He did not provide an explanation for the three-year gap between finishing school at 25 and starting this employment. Mr. Lei has been supported by the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) since approximately 2000.
Mr. Lei reports that he has had “four or five” girlfriends over his lifetime. He has never married and has no children.
Mr. Lei reported alcohol use beginning when he was 16 or 17 years old. Mr. Lei denied using cannabis or illicit substances. Prior to the index offence, Mr. Lei had a criminal record for assault in 2001 for which he received a conditional discharge. Further charges of sexual assault (x 2) and fail to comply with a recognizance stemming from May 26, 2024, and October 16, 2024, respectively were dismissed.
Mr. Lei’s family noted changes in his behaviour in 1993. His first hospitalisation occurred due to an emotional episode at school, after which he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated with antipsychotic medication. In 1995, the family relocated to mainland China to seek further treatment. During this time, Mr. Lei was frequently hospitalized over a four-year period. Interventions included electroconvulsive therapy, which is reported by his family as being ineffective. Mr. Lei was also treated with clozapine which was thought to have been beneficial. After emigrating to Canada, Mr. Lei’s symptoms worsened leading to his hospitalisation in 2002 at Scarborough Grace Hospital followed by his transfer to Ontario Shores where he remained for three years.
Curse subsequent to the index offence
Mr. Lei was in custody at Central East Correctional Centre from the day after his arrest on October 17, 2024, until his transfer to Ontario Shores on December 18, 2024. Dr. L. Wong assessed Mr. Lei on December 12, 2024, by videoconference pursuant to a Form 48 Assessment Order. Mr. Lei presented as grossly disorganized. His speech was largely incoherent and unintelligible. He misidentified his own age. He was preoccupied with wanting to return home, which impaired his ability to answer questions about the Court process. Dr. Wong’s diagnostic impression was treatment-resistant schizophrenia and rule out intellectual disability vs. rule out language disorder. He opined that Mr. Lei was unfit to stand trial and recommended a treatment order.
Mr. Lei was initially admitted to the psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the secure Forensic Assessment Unit (FAU) on December 18, 2024, pursuant to a Treatment Order. He was found fit to stand trial upon his return to Court on February 14, 2025. He then remained in hospital pursuant to a ‘Keep Fit’ order. Mr. Lei was found incapable to consent to treatment on February 21, 2025, and his sister is his substitute decision maker (SDM). After his finding of NCR on September 12, 2025, Mr. Lei returned to the FAU. On September 15, 2025, Mr. Lei was transferred to the secure Forensic Assessment Rehabilitation Unit (FARU).
Mr. Lei is diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia.
Analysis
Mr. Lei suffers from treatment resistant schizophrenia. He has struggled with nonadherence to antipsychotic medication and when unwell is described as being grossly disorganized and incoherent. When nonadherent to medication or when under medicated (such as earlier this year when he was not provided a prescribed medication in error), Mr. Lei can exhibit impulsive and assaultive behaviour towards others. Mr. Lei has a history of making sexually inappropriate gestures and sounds towards female staff even in the context of medication adherence. Since his admission to the hospital, he been involved in several physical altercations with co-patients and required the use of seclusion on two occasions to manage his aggressive behaviour. Mr. Lei’s insight into his mental illness and risk for violence is underdeveloped and absent the Board’s jurisdiction he would likely stop taking his medication and lapse into behaviour similar to that at the time of the index offence. For these reasons, the Board finds that Mr. Lei represents a significant threat to the safety of the public.
The Hospital Report indicates that Mr. Lei requires the staffing and supervision of a secure forensic unit to build a therapeutic alliance in a controlled environment; to monitor his behaviour over time and to intervene quickly should he engage in sexually inappropriate or physically threatening behaviour. The Board agrees that currently Mr. Lei requires the supervision of a secure forensic unit to manage his risk. However, Mr. Lei is making progress, he does not appear to be suffering from any psychotic symptoms he has been complaint with his medication (and the blood work protocol necessary for his clozapine medication) and there has been no inappropriate sexual behaviour since his transfer to FARU. Dr. Harrigan testified that consideration is being given to adding a mood stabiliser to his medication regime which may assist to further improve Mr. Lei’s clinical presentation. The Board accepts Dr. Harrigan testimony that, having regard to Mr. Lei’s progress, he may be clinically ready to move to a less secure unit during the year ahead. The Board finds that a detention order on the Forensic Service allows for this move. It also provides some incentive to Mr. Lei which is an added therapeutic benefit.
The Hospital Report, the s.48 Fitness Report and the NCR Report all document difficulties in communicating with Mr. Lei, even with the assistance of a Cantonese interpreter, suggesting that he may be experiencing cognitive issues. Dr. Harrigan testified that there has been no indication from speaking with Mr. Lei’s family that he suffered any cognitive deficits during his development and that any cognitive decline may be due to his treatment resistant illness. Notwithstanding, further assessment regarding Mr. Lei’s cognitive capacity may serve to inform the treatment team going forward. Culture or language free testing to target appropriate programing for Mr. Lei may be helpful.
More investigation is also required regarding Mr. Lei’s language skills. Mr. Lei’s inability to communicate effectively (either due to cognitive issues or a language barrier) maybe contributing to his irritability and complicating his presentation, which will ultimately impact the treatment team’s ability to effectively assist him. The Board acknowledges that the hospital has limited Cantonese/Mandarin language supports for Mr. Lei. The Board encourages the hospital to consider language and culturally relevant services outside of the hospital that could be accessed for Mr. Lei.
The NCR Report indicates that substances may have played a larger part in Mr. Lei’s life than Mr. Lei has reported. It is early days for Mr. Lei, and the treatment team will need to develop a better understanding of his history and risk factors. While on a secure forensic unit substances will not be a major factor; however, should he transfer to a general forensic unit Mr. Lei will have increased access to them, and this could prove detrimental to his recovery. Having considered the totality of the evidence, the Board finds that Mr. Lei should be required to abstain from the use of alcohol or substance use and that he should be required to provide urine for testing. However, the Board suggests that further investigation should be undertaken in the year ahead to determine whether alcohol and or substance use are salient risk factors for Mr. Lei.
For these reasons, the Board finds that a detention order on the Forensic Service represents the necessary and appropriate disposition. The disposition will allow Mr. Lei to access the supports and structure that he requires and allow for movement to a general forensic unit and graduated access to the community as soon as it is considered clinically appropriate.
Mr. Lei told the Board that he wants to stay at the hospital for a little while (on the unit that he was previously residing on), and then he wishes to return home. It is clear from his testimony that Mr. Lei wishes to return to his family who have cared for him for many years and who continue to support him. The Board is hopeful that in the year ahead Mr. Lei will make progress toward achieving his goal.
Disposition
In making a disposition, the Board must take into consideration s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, including the safety of the public which is the paramount consideration and the mental condition of the accused, the reintegration of the accused into society and the other needs of the accused.
For the above reasons, the Board finds that Mr. Lei represents a significant threat to the safety of the public and shall be detained within the Forensic Program at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences with privileges and prohibitions as outlined in the formal disposition.
DATED this 26^th^ day of November 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Ms. J. Mills Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board