Download Good behaviour bond after forging sleeping tablet

NEWS
Wake-up for anaesthetist
Good behaviour bond after forging sleeping tablet prescriptions
had been working long shifts at Royal Darwin
Hospital after moving to the NT in February.
His lawyer Miles Crawley said Mr McGirr
suffered from chronic sleep deprivation and
was going without treatment for a psychiatric
condition when he wrote the prescriptions out
for sleeping tablets and antibiotics.
James Patrick McGirr, 40, pleaded guilty to
He was caught when he went to a Darwin
charges of forgery and possessing poison in pharmacy twice in two days in April and the
Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday.
pharmacist called the police, who arrived and
The court heard that Mr McGirr, of Perth, arrested Mr McGirr.
By EMILY WATKINS
AN ANAESTHETIST who forged prescriptions for drugs to help him sleep during
the day in Darwin’s humidity has been
released on a good behaviour bond and
without a conviction.
Mr Crawley told the court McGirr was
working 14-hour night shifts up to two weeks
running, and that he had struggled socially
and psychologically since he had moved
to Darwin.
He said Mr McGirr was living in hospital
quarters with poor air conditioning, and he
struggled to sleep in the humidity of the day.
Mr McGirr has since resigned from his
position and is under investigation by the NT
Medical Board.
Magistrate Tanya Fong Lim said it was
serious offending, but that she had to take his
medical condition into account and she did
not believe he would reoffend.
‘‘I think that your personal situation is
clearly something that has led you to this
offending and you have suffered considerably,’’ Ms Fong Lim said. ‘‘A conviction would
not serve any purpose.’’
She gave McGirr a 12-month good behaviour bond.
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REPORT FAMILY VIOLENCE.
BE SOMEONE.
Now you must say something – it’s the law.
It’s no good thinking, “Someone should do something about family
violence”. That someone is you. Because now, if you think a person
could be seriously hurt by somebody in their family, the law says you
have to tell the Police. You can:
• Ring straight away • Get somebody you trust to ring for you
• Or report it later when it’s safe.
So don’t turn your back when you could be saving a life.
Police 131 444 I Emergency 000
www.stopfamilyviolence.nt.gov.au
4 — Northern Territory News, Thursday, June 24, 2010
GREY 19682
DATE: 24-JUN-2010 PAGE: 4
Sacked SIHIP builder lashes out
at Govt for using him as scapegoat
mg460402
PUB: NT NEWS
SEVENTEEN of Australia’s
finest police constables will be
calling the Territory home
after graduating from the Accelerated Recruitment Program (ARP) yesterday.
The ARP Squad 106 successfully completed 10 weeks of
intensive training to prepare
the constables for work in the
Northern Territory.
The ARP is designed to encourage experienced constables
from other states and territories
to join the NT Police, Fire and
Emergency Services and bring
with them a broad range of
skills and experience.
Commissioner Trophy winner Constable Rosemary
MacDonald — after serving
with Victoria Police for 12
years — said she decided to
come to the Territory for the
lifestyle and the opportunities.
Constable MacDonald requested to be based in Alice
Springs and will begin her
service on July 1.
Police Commissioner John
McRoberts said a new NT constable’s mission is to keep
people safe.
‘‘That is what you signed up
for and that is what is expected
of you,’’ he said.
This is the first squadron to
graduate in 2010.
NT Police Leadership medals
went to Detective Senior Sergeant Robert Jordan and Senior
Constable Chris Castle.
The Rod Evans Memorial
trophy went to Constable HAT TRICK: Constable Kelly Livingstone with Isabella Theodosiou, 18 months, at the Northern Territory Police, Fire
and Emergency Services Graduation Ceremony held at the NTPFES. Picture: KATRINA BRIDGEFORD
Daniel Davison.
A MAN accused of a crime
spree in which a woman and
two men were bashed has a
warrant out for his arrest.
Stephen Bet, 38, allegedly
assaulted a man and a woman
at a backpackers lodge, bashed
a 59-year-old man, threatened
to injure others, refused a
breath test, and caused a disturbance in a police station.
He was due to appear in the
Darwin Magistrates Court on
Monday to face several
charges but did not show.
A warrant for his arrest was
issued and police said yesterday that he was still at large.
The alleged violent spree
happened on Sunday, June 13.
Police were called to East
Point about 4pm after reports
of a man disturbing people
with his aggressive behaviour.
Shortly afterwards, at a
backpackers’ in Harriet Place,
Bet allegedly assaulted a man,
then a woman who intervened.
Soon afterwards, he allegedly bashed a 59-year-old man
who was walking along Narrows Rd.
Bet was allegedly intercepted by police on the Stuart
Highway at Berrimah.
Police alleged that he refused to give a roadside breath
test and was taken to the
watch house where he caused
another disturbance.
He was due to face charges
of assault, disorderly behaviour and failing to provide a
breath sample.
A SACKED builder said he
was made a scapegoat for the
Government’s failure to roll
out a multi-million dollar
housing program.
Canstruct chief executive Robin
Murphy said his company had
built houses in Australia, New
Zealand, the US and France.
‘‘We don’t build shoddy houses,’’
he said.
Canstruct was one of the four
companies that formed the
Earth Connect Alliance — which
was sacked from the strategic
indigenous housing and
infrastructure program (SIHIP)
earlier this year.
The Government has now
been forced to rebuild some
of the houses constructed by
this company.
Housing Minister Chris Burns
www.ntnews.com.au
said the Government was still in a
contractual dispute with the Earth
Connect Alliance.
But he pointed to a report by
Auditor General Frank
McGuiness that showed problems
with the quality of materials
and construction.
It also showed a lack of clarity in
the alliance’s financial reporting.
But Mr Murphy said he spent 15
months getting through the
Government’s red tape and now he
was being made a scapegoat.
‘‘Because somebody had to take
the blame or be blamed for the fact
that there have been so few houses
built,’’ he said.
‘‘Even to this day, there have
been so few houses built.’’
Dr Burns said six of the houses
constructed by the alliance needed
further work.
‘‘There was a question mark
about some of the materials put in
those buildings, and we have to
undertake some further work to
remediate those materials and
some of that workmanship.’’
Opposition Leader Terry
Mills said the Government was
refusing to take responsibility for
its failures.
‘‘What we know for fact is we
have a shoddy level of leadership
from this administration, more
interested in off-loading
responsibility than accepting
responsibility,’’ he said.
‘‘We have $200 million spent, we
have a dozen houses. I think the
jury would have made up their
mind where the problem lies, and
that’s with this Government and
their failure to properly manage
this program.’’