Beijing, Oct 27 (IANS): A gay was forced into psychiatric care and to receive treatment for sexual preference disorder in China's Henan province, a media report said on Tuesday.

Yu Quanhu, 34, was forced to visit the Second People's Hospital of Zhumadian by his family members on October 8, the date when he originally decided to divorce his wife, Yu's boyfriend surnamed Yang told the Global Times.

The gay couple began dating in January, and Yu came out to his family in April. He has been married to his wife for over 10 years and has raised a daughter and a son, Yang noted.

"He got married because he thought marriage could change him, but he did not love his wife. He sometimes told me that he would be working late just to avoid having sex with her," Yang said.

There are more than 16 million "homowives" in China, a term referring to wives of homosexuals.

More than 90 percent of them have experienced domestic violence, but most of them do not want a divorce because of their children.

According to Ah Qiang, founder of PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays) China, who accompanied Yang to the hospital, Yu's chief physician told them that Yu was hospitalised for emotional instability and sexual preference disorder.

"This [homosexuality being treated as psychosis] happens often, as many people don't know about homosexuality, especially in rural areas where people lack the means to learn about it," Ah Qiang said, adding that the hospital has agreed to release Yu to his family on Monday after negotiation.

China removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 2001.