A doctor from the Great Southern region of Western Australia has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for giving a prescription to a woman who allegedly used the medication to try to kill her six-year-old daughter, who has a severe disability.
Pieter Theunis Austin, 48, entered the guilty plea when he faced the Stirling Gardens Magistrates court this morning via video link from Casuarina prison.
He has been in custody since February this year when he was arrested by Child Abuse Squad detectives.
A previous court hearing was been told that in mid-January, the girl's mother, who cannot be identified, obtained a prescription for synthetic insulin from Austin, which she then injected into her daughter so that she would "pass away peacefully".
A relative later noticed that the girl was not well and rushed her to the local hospital, where she was stabilised before being airlifted to Perth Children's hospital.
The mother, who was her daughter's sole around-the-clock carer, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder and has been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court.
She has been released on bail until she reappears in court next week.
She was originally held in custody but took her fight to be released on bail to the Supreme Court, which ruled she should be released on strict conditions, including that she did not make any attempt to contact the child.
The woman has also been banned from contacting Austin, who has not made any application to be released on bail.
The previous court hearing was told she would be defending the charge against her on the basis of whether she had an intent to kill her daughter.
Austin was again remanded in custody.
He will next face court on December 14 when a sentencing hearing will take place in the Supreme Court.
