CAT/C/68/D/852/2017 against Dr. Leeks in Victoria, Australia; 14 and in 2010, the complainant brought his complaint about Dr. Leeks to the Medical Council of New Zealand.15 4.4 Following the settlement of the Lake Alice class action, the Government offered compensation and apologies to the litigants, including the complainant. The complainant also had the opportunity to attend a confidential listening and assistance service. It is not known whether he took this opportunity. This service was established by the Government in 2008 to provide a confidential and supportive forum for people who had experienced abuse or neglect during their time in State care in the residential special education, health and welfare sectors before 1992. The service is now discontinued. 4.5 The State party then refers to the complaints to the police in the 2000s. In 2002, several former patients involved in civil proceedings complained to the police. 16 Two further complaints followed in 2006, including one by the complainant on 21 April 2006. Complaints referred to the application of electric shocks and the administration of drugs as punishment, and also alleged instances of sexual offending. 4.6 The police took a number of steps to investigate the complainant’s allegations and see if further inquiry was warranted: it made contact with the person who represented most of the claimants in the civil action and obtained the files relating to those whose complaints had been referred to the police; it received additional files from other complainants or through intermediaries; searches were undertaken to locate earlier complaints; medical records, where available, were obtained; inquiries were carried out with some of the staff identified by the patients and their statements recorded; some of the key statements made earlier by staff witnesses were obtained; an expert opinion regarding the use of electroconvulsive therapy on children was obtained; the site of the former Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital was photographed and the site plans obtained; and the complainants’ statements were analysed against the available medical notes. The police found evidence of the application of electroconvulsive therapy in both treatment modes and the application of electric shocks in circumstances that might suggest use as a form of aversion therapy or 14 15 16 In a letter dated 20 July 2006, the Medical Practitioner Board of Victoria, Australia, advised the complainant that Dr. Leeks had ceased all forms of medical practice and given an undertaking that he would not return to practice in any jurisdiction. The Board explained that its primary role was to protect the community and in light of the undertaking received from Dr. Leeks, it would not be proceeding with the hearing. In a letter of 23 September 2011 addressed to another Lake Alice victim, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency observed that Dr. Leeks’ undertaking to discontinue practice was the most severe outcome that might have been achieved by any formal Board hearing. On 22 June 2012, Council responded that an investigation process had been initiated in 1977, but that there were no records of what had occurred. It was also not clear what alternatives were available to the Medical Council in 1977. The Council stated: “if a similar complaint came to the Medical Council of New Zealand now, they would assess it and either deal with it as an issue of competence or of conduct. Under both those pathways the possible interventions are multiple. While the Council can in some serious circumstances temporarily suspend a doctor’s practising certificate, any removal from the register would depend on a successful prosecution on conduct grounds with the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal”. According to the Council, there was no capacity to relitigate what was done all those years ago against current processes and standards. The Chair advised that there was no jurisdiction over Dr. Leeks following his deregistration. The police needed to determine the evidential sufficiency of the complaints and weigh the public interest factors in a prosecution. One of the complaints received was selected as a representative complaint for evaluation. This was a complaint from the same adolescent boy who had been the subject of the Commission of Inquiry in 1977. In April 2004, the police determined there was insufficient evidence to initiate a criminal prosecution responsibly. However, it was considered that the complaint raised serious questions that merited further investigation. On 7 October 2004, the police took a statement from a former school teacher at Lake Alice during the 1970s, who stated that electroconvulsive therapy was administered as a punishment for failing to achieve adequate grades in school work and for other behavioural issues. The police also entered into correspondence with various parties who had an interest in the investigation. In September 2005, they received a media inquiry regarding the possible extradition of Dr. Leeks from Australia. The police confirmed their view that no activity or intervention with patients at Lake Alice had been disclosed that amounted to a criminal offence. 5