Brisbane psychiatrist Shafiq Ghulam Yasin banned for life after engaging in ‘predatory’ behaviour

A Brisbane psychiatrist has been banned for life after preying on “troubled and vulnerable” female patients allegedly groping one’s breasts, groaning while massaging another and thrusting his pelvis into an employee.

A Brisbane psychiatrist has been banned for life after preying on “troubled and vulnerable” female patients allegedly groping one’s breasts, groaning while massaging another and thrusting his pelvis into an employee.

Shafiq Ghulam Yasin, 54, was working as a psychiatrist after already being dealt with for professional violations after engaging in a consensual sexual relationship with a woman he treated for bipolar disorder in 2008.

After serving out a one-year suspension fresh complaints were made to the Health Ombudsman relating to four patients.

The tribunal’s judicial member former District Court Judge Richard Jones found Yasin engaged in “predatory behaviour”. Pic: Tara Croser.

One of them, a woman in her early 20s with ADHD, saw Yasin 12 times in 2017 and 2018.

A tribunal heard that during the consultations he questioned her sexual history, including the number of sexual partners she’d had, why she had not had sex, and whether she would have sex in the future.

“These conversations bore little, if any, relevance to her clinical care,” the tribunal’s decision published Thursday said.

Yasin also allegedly touched her breasts inside her bra with his fingers, the tribunal heard.

Patient A spoke to police but did not make a formal complaint instead reporting it to the ombudsman.

Patient B had a history of substance abuse, suicide attempts, and childhood trauma while in foster care which Yasin, who treated her in 2017 and 2018, was aware of.

During this period they came to an arrangement for her to clean his house for payment.

He drove her to his home, took the woman to his bedroom and asked for a massage, the tribunal heard.

He lay face down on the bed wearing only his underwear while Patient B straddled him and massaged his back for a few minutes before declining his offer of a massage.

She was paid $40 and driven back to the clinic.

The tribunal said the conduct was consensual but “clearly a flagrant breach of the doctor and patient relationship”.

Patient C was a 53 year old woman who told Yasin she had problems with sex in the past.

Yasin got out of chair, walked behind her and said “oh yes, I have had problems with sex in the past too.”

“He then massaged her shoulders, making a groaning-type noise,” the tribunal said.

In April 2017 he visited the home of the woman – who had a history of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and previous suicide attempts – telling her he was stressed.

During the evening the pair laid on her bed for a number of hours, the tribunal heard.

She would later tell another psychiatrist that Yasin was “hitting on me and we nearly had intercourse”.

About a year later in 2019 Patient C died by suicide, the tribunal heard.

Patient D, in her early 20s, saw Yasin about 25 times and on one occasion he allegedly placed his hands inside her shirt and massaged her breasts.

He also employed her at his clinic for two weeks where on one occasion he got her to pull her pants down and lay on the floor with him, “rocking his body back and forth and thrusting his pelvis against the patient”.

She quit the following day.

After investigating the allegations the ombudsman referred Yasin to Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal for sanction.

Yasin, who did not renew his health practitioner‘s registration in September 2019, declined to participate with the ombudsman’s investigation or the tribunal.

The Pakistani-born Yasin emailed the ombudsman in July 2018 stating he was overseas looking after a sick mother.

“Overall, there is no room for doubt that the respondent in this case has deliberately involved himself in a predatory course of conduct involving clearly troubled and vulnerable women, in circumstances where he had already been dealt with for patient boundary violations,” the tribunal’s judicial member former District Court Judge Richard Jones said.

“The tribunal has no difficulty in concluding that he is not a fit and proper person to hold registration as a medical practitioner.

The tribunal found Yasin had engaged in professional misconduct in respect of all four female patients.

Yasin was disqualified from applying for registration indefinitely.