TRANSCRIPT:
A family still coming to terms with a loved one's horrific death and a community still in mourning.
Twenty-nine-year-old Manmeet Sharma was burnt to death in the driver's seat of his council bus.
A firebombing in the streets of Brisbane reported worldwide.
Family representative Winnerjit Singh flew to Brisbane for the Queensland coroner’s findings.
"We are fighting for justice. Justice is delayed and it is denied."
In 2016, 48-year old Anthony O'Donohue boarded Manmeet’s bus and threw a lit petrol bomb at him.
Manmeet died within minutes, with burns to 84 percent of his body, 14 passengers escaped.
Just months earlier O’Donohue was released from a mental health unit, despite suffering serious persecution complex, homicidal ideations and a rare psychotic illness.
Mr Singh says the family are disappointed no-one was held accountable.
"Who is responsible for that? Who put him on the low-risk? Who gave the decision to discharge?"
Queensland coroner Terry Ryan told the court, "I agree that the decision to discharge Mr O'Donohue from the mental health service… was not satisfactory".
"However, that conclusion is reached with some hesitation knowing the benefit of hindsight.”
“It could not have been predicted that Mr O'Donohue could have gone on to kill someone, particularly in the manner that he killed Mr Sharma".
The mental health court in 2018 ordered O’Donohue be confined to secure care for a landmark maximum of 10 years.
Queensland’s coroner says it took seven years to deliver his findings because of legal proceedings against the accused, COVID preventing the family travelling from India to attend hearings, and a further delay to coincide with the anniversary of Manmeet Sharma’s death on 28 October.
The coroner made one recommendation: better continuity of care for patients like O’Donohue when transitioning from public to private care.
He also acknowledged efforts made by the local government to protect bus drivers, which the Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s Tom Brown rejected outside court.
"The biggest mistake made in the last seven years has been the implementation of the partial barriers in our buses. These partial barriers did nothing."
Manmeet was a popular Punjabi amateur singer with film star ambitions.
Mr Singh says the family and community will gather at his memorial, just metres from where he died, in Brisbane tomorrow.
"He is in our heart all the time, of course. This is the day, tomorrow is the day - and of course this is seven years. Every year we remember Manmeet."
