Medical practitioner’s registration suspended after conviction for unlawful and indecent assault

16 Nov 2017

A medical practitioner convicted of indecent assault has been reprimanded by a tribunal and had his registration suspended.

Dr Suhail Omer Mir who had been employed as a medical registrar was referred to the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia (the tribunal) by the Medical Board of Australia (the Board) in March 2017 after he was convicted in the Perth Magistrates Court for unlawful and indecent assault.

Dr Mir admitted that while on duty at Royal Perth Hospital in June 2016, he followed a female visitor from the hospital to a nearby car park where they had a conversation and he then hugged her.

Although he denied any criminal behaviour, the Magistrate found that during the hug Dr Mir had kissed and bitten the woman’s neck without her consent. In October 2016, the Magistrate fined Dr Mir $1,000 and he received a spent conviction.

During subsequent tribunal proceedings brought by the Board, Dr Mir continued to maintain his denial of any criminal behaviour but admitted that he had behaved in a way that constituted professional misconduct by failing to practise in accordance with clause 8.1 of Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia.

Dr Mir admitted that by reason of the conviction he had failed to display a standard of behaviour that warrants the trust and respect of the community.

The tribunal took into consideration a number of mitigating factors including stressors in Dr Mir’s life at the time of the offence, the fact that this was an isolated incident and Dr Mir’s remorse that the incident occurred.

In August 2017, the tribunal found that Dr Mir behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct and ordered that Dr Mir be reprimanded, his registration as a medical practitioner be suspended for six months, and he pay $2,300 towards the Board’s costs.

Reasons for the decision are published on the tribunal’s website.