US man's post lands him in mental asylum

A man's Facebook post, wherein he conveyed a fake suicide threat, has landed him in trouble with police arresting him and placing him under mental health watch.

The man reportedly wanted to test Facebook's suicide prevention programme.

Shane Tusch, an electrician from San Mateo, California, threatened to hang himself from the Golden Gate Bridge in a post, BBC reported.

Another Facebook user alerted the police about the post who responded by detaining him. Facebook also suspended his account.

Tusch claimed he was subjected to medical tests and said the person who reported him was almost "a complete stranger".

He wrote on Facebook: "Facebook needs to leave suicide prevention to family and friends."

"There are no checks and balances! I was only proving a point that Facebook should not be involved in this."

Facebook added extra tools in February to make it easier for users to report posts they're worried about.

If a post is reported, a box appears to users saying: "Hi, a friend thinks you might be going through something difficult and asked us to look at your recent post."

It then gives users the option to "reach out to a friend or helpline worker" or to "get tips and support".

If it believes there is an imminent threat, it can contact police and ask them to check on the user.