Psychiatrist deemed Joel Cauchi ‘fit and proper’ to hold gun licence ahead of Bondi Junction stabbings
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Version 2 of 3. Dr C wrote to the police in 2021 that Cauchi did ‘not pose an imminent risk to himself or others at this stage’, Sydney inquest hears A Brisbane psychiatrist deemed Joel Cauchi “fit and proper” to hold a gun licence in 2021 after finding the schizophrenic man to be “virtually no risk” to others, a court has been told. Cauchi, 40, fatally stabbed Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, and Faraz Tahir, 30, and injured 10 others at Westfield Bondi Junction on 13 April last year, before he was shot and killed by police inspector Amy Scott. Known only as Dr C for legal reasons, the psychiatrist provided Cauchi with a medical certificate in January 2021 “so that he can visit a gun range and practise target shooting”, he told the New South Wales coroner’s court on Thursday. Dr C told the inquest he was then contacted by an officer from the Queensland police service, who asked Dr C to provide a “firm recommendation” for Cauchi’s “statement of eligibility” application, should he consider him a “fit and proper person to be issued with a weapons licence”. Dr C wrote to the police, telling them Cauchi did “not pose an imminent risk to himself or others at this stage” and was in remission from his schizophrenia. Police guidelines state that a person must pose “virtually no risk” to public safety to hold a gun licence, the court heard. “Given the assessment that I had … I was of the opinion that he was somebody who posed very low risk to himself and others at that point,” the psychiatrist said. He said Cauchi did not have a history of aggression or violence, adding that assessing future risk was very difficult. Dr C had only met Cauchi once. He contacted Cauchi’s former longtime psychiatrist, known as Dr A, to request his new patient’s medical records but was only provided with a limited history. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email He admitted in court that he had missed a “red flag” when Cauchi was inconsistent about his medical history. Cauchi told him he had taken the antipsychotic drug Clopine (clozapine) for two years, the inquest heard. When Dr C accessed Cauchi’s medical notes, he learned he had taken the drug, used for severe forms of schizophrenia, for 15 years. Despite that red flag, he provided the gun licence recommendation – the first he had made in his career to the police. Cauchi had left his home town of Toowoomba less than a year before in 2020. In the months before he moved to Brisbane, his mother had repeatedly raised concerns about a possible decline in her son’s mental health. His mother was worried about her son’s belief that he was under satanic control as well as Cauchi’s extreme OCD, compulsive use of porn and changes to his gait, the court has heard. Dr C was not told of Cauchi’s mother’s concerns in the paperwork from Dr A’s practice, but was able to verify that Cauchi had come off antipsychotic medication under supervision, as he had claimed. The court heard the eligibility certificate was limited to a specific scenario – and could only have been used at a pistol club under supervision. “In hindsight, I would have done things a lot differently,” Dr C said, adding that he could have been more insistent on Cauchi having a second appointment before providing the certificate and being diligent about him pursuing treatment. He also said he should have directly contacted Dr A to learn more about his history. Earlier on Thursday, a general practitioner who treated Cauchi for 15 years said he would have been “very concerned” about a possible decline in his schizophrenic patient’s mental health had he been told about concerns raised by his mother. Dr Richard Grundy told the inquest he last saw Cauchi in Toowoomba in August 2019 – when he had been “reasonably well and stable”. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Grundy said on Thursday that, had he later been told that Cauchi’s mother had had concerns about changes in his behaviour after coming off antipsychotic medication, he would have been “very concerned” about a possible relapse of Cauchi’s schizophrenia symptoms. The court heard that Cauchi left Toowoomba in March 2020. His then psychiatrist, Dr A, wrote in a discharge letter to Grundy that Cauchi had moved to Brisbane and was no longer eligible for Skype consultations with Dr A. Under questioning by the senior counsel assisting the coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, Grundy said he had no reason to suspect that Cauchi needed psychiatric attention, given the letter did not include details about his mother’s concerns or that he had been weaned off antipsychotic medication. “I thought Joel was well,” Grundy told the court from London via video link. He said he “didn’t have any information” regarding the phone calls and messages Cauchi’s mother had made to Dr A’s private practice over her concerns on seven occasions between October 2019 and February 2020. “I would have made an attempt to contact him,” he said, adding that he would have also wanted to discuss the behaviour with Cauchi’s treating psychiatrist. The wording of Dr A’s letter was ambiguous and one sentence in particular – urging the GP to “recall” Cauchi – could be read in two ways, the court heard. As such, the GP did not take action and assumed Cauchi did not require his care. Grundy said that Cauchi had always managed his own appointments and had been a punctual and compliant patient. “Joel had always been a person who made his own appointments, if he had concerns about any of his health issues … he would have contacted a GP for assessment and if referral was required, they’d make that referral,” he told the inquest on Thursday. “He could return to the practice any time he liked. I’ve never recalled or chased someone up who was living in a different city to get them to come back and see me.” He also said that a phone call Dr A claimed she had made to the GP about Cauchi’s ongoing care “did not happen”. Dr A told the court on Tuesday that she had felt “totally relieved” after a March 2020 phone conversation in which she and Grundy discussed Cauchi and a possible recall of the patient. But Grundy said on Thursday there was no such phone call. “If a specialist had a phone consult with me, I would have opened the patient’s file and made a note of their concerns, and there’s no record of that phone call on file,” he told the inquest, adding he also had no recollection of the call. Dr A claimed to have called Grundy regarding the health of Cauchi on many occasions. Grundy denied ever being called by Dr A. |