Re An Application Under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1983 v Rita Elizabeth Takalubegash [1994] ACTSC 15 (3 March 1994)

SUPREME COURT OF THE ACT

IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION UNDER THE CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION ACT
1983 v. RITA ELIZABETH TAKALUBEGASH
No. CIC62 of 1993
Number of pages - 2

COURT

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
MASTER A. HOGAN

HEARING

CANBERRA, 3 February 1994
3:3:1994

Counsel for the Plaintiff: R G Thomas

Instructing Solicitors: Pappas, J. - Attorney

Counsel for Defendant: K J Holmes

Instructing Solicitors: Australian Government Solicitor

ORDER

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
Compensation be awarded to the applicant in the sum of $15,664.

DECISION

MASTER A. HOGAN This is an application for compensation pursuant to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1983.

2. The applicant was present at the Iranian Embassy in Canberra on 6 April 1992, when it was attacked by a number of people.

3. Indictments were presented in this Court charging eleven people with a number of offences. The jury failed to agree on a verdict in respect of one accused. Various verdicts of guilty were returned against the other ten. On 18 January 1994 the Chief Justice sentenced four of the ten to terms of imprisonment and imposed suspended sentences on the others.

4. The applicant, who was about twelve weeks pregnant at the time, had accompanied her sister-in-law to the Embassy to make enquiries about renewal of her passport, and to obtain an English edition of the Quran for herself.

5. They were in a small office when the attack took place. An official took them to another room and told them to lock themselves in a bathroom. While there they could hear the shouting and noises of glass being smashed.

6. They could also smell smoke. The applicant was terrified and feared she might lose her baby.

7. An official eventually opened the bathroom door. His head was covered in blood. They assisted him and he left, telling them to lock the door again.

8. Eventually the noise abated and they were able to leave the bathroom. The lights were out. The Embassy was in a mess. They were taken by staff to the garage, where they were attended to by ambulance officers.

9. The applicant was still terrified and shocked. They drove back to her sister-in-law's house, bursting into hysterical laughter from time to time. When they saw the event depicted on the television that night the shock was renewed. She was unable to face talking to the police until three days later.

10. She consulted her general practitioner, who referred her to Ms Val Gould, clinical psychologist, who counselled her on five occasions. Ms Gould certified that the applicant complained of a cluster of symptoms which fitted the diagnostic criteria of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They were hyperalertness, hypervigilance, disturbed sleep, flashbacks, loss of motivation in previously enjoyed activities and suspicion of strangers.

11. She was worried about having to give evidence. That hindered the healing processes which Ms Gould's counselling was designed to promote. Ms Gould expected that she would need further help, extending over months or even years.

12. Her solicitors arranged a consultation with Dr Veness, consultant psychiatrist, who saw her on 24 November 1992. She still had disturbed sleep, sleeping with the light on. She could not stay at home alone. When her husband has to be out late she insists on staying with her sister-in-law.

13. Dr Veness' summary was as follows:-
Mrs Takalubegash clearly suffered from post traumatic stress

symptoms following her terrifying ordeal at the Iranian Embassy on 6
April 1992. She suffered anxiety, sleep disturbance and vivid
re-experiencing of the events in her mind, something which had not
altogether left her when I saw her for consultation last November.
Unlike her sister-in-law, also married to an Iranian, her marriage
has remained intact and her relationship with her husband seems
strong. At the time I saw her, I would not have regarded her as
being seriously depressed but certainly still anxious about the
possibility of being harmed further and although this is probably
unrealistic, her connections with the Iranian community, through her
husband and her sister-in-law, will no doubt present problems in the
future, especially if more of her husband's family migrate. Soraya
migrated first and then Rita's husband migrated with his father, but
his father returned to Iran.
Mrs Takalubegash therefore did undergo a terrifying ordeal which did
result in a post traumatic stress disorder which has resolved to the
point where further treatment may not be necessary.

14. In evidence she said that she knew that Val Gould advised further consultations, but she did not want to talk about the incident any more.

15. She and her husband had a belief that a security system might help her deal with her feelings of insecurity, but I do not think that its installation is made reasonably necessary as a consequence of the injury. I have not included the cost of installation in the award.

16. For her pain and suffering I award $15,000. The costs of bringing the application were $664.

17. I award compensation to the applicant in the sum of $15,664.