Lucid Rivkin back inside for the weekend: [1 All-round Country Edition]
John Stapleton, Drew Warne-Smith. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 Sep 2004: 4.
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Abstract
The director of periodic detention with the NSW Department of Corrective Services, Steve D’Silva, met Rivkin as he was inducted back into the hospital.
Rivkin spoke lucidly and appeared in reasonable health, Mr D’Silva said.
Rivkin left St Vincent’s Private Hospital in central Sydney on Tuesday night, having been admitted five days before following an overdose of pills.
STRIPPED of his flamboyant persona and flash cars, a “lucid” Rene Rivkin returned to a Sydney jail yesterday, one week after he tried to take his own life.
Due to re-enter periodic detention at the hospital wing of Long Bay jail at 3pm, the disgraced stockbroker arrived a few minutes late on an unseasonally warm day, looking almost suburban.
Driven by his wife, Gayle, Rivkin arrived in an early 1990s maroon BMW318i, probably worth less than $15,000, a fraction of the cost of some of his previous automobiles.
Gone completely was the aura of flash cash that was once so much a part of his persona, although his trusty family dogs, a golden labrador and a white Samoyed, accompanied the Rivkins for the drive.
The director of periodic detention with the NSW Department of Corrective Services, Steve D’Silva, met Rivkin as he was inducted back into the hospital.
Rivkin spoke lucidly and appeared in reasonable health, Mr D’Silva said.
“It’s fair to say he wasn’t overly chatty, but when I spoke with him he was comprehending what was said and talking,” he said.
“He was lucid and he seemed to be in reasonable shape, but it is for the medical staff to assess his condition and drive the level of care we afford him.”
Long Bay jail received a notification from his doctor on Thursday saying that he would be attending.
Rivkin left St Vincent’s Private Hospital in central Sydney on Tuesday night, having been admitted five days before following an overdose of pills.
After being inducted back into the jail’s hospital wing, he was clinically assessed for 45 minutes by a psychiatrist and a general practitioner to determine his level of care.
He was allocated to a single room under 24-hour supervision by hospital staff until he is released on Sunday at 12.30pm.
Mrs Rivkin said nothing to the assembled media at the prison gate yesterday, but gave a grin which could have been interpreted as anything from a wry smile to a grimace.
After this weekend Rivkin, 60, has only seven more weekends of his nine-month periodic detention left to serve.
Later Edition:
Rivkin back in jail, then back out `suicidal’: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
John Stapleton, Drew Warne-Smith. Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 Sep 2004: 3.
Abstract
STRIPPED of his flamboyant persona and flash cars, Rene Rivkin returned to a Sydney jail yesterday, only to be released six hours later after again displaying suicidal tendencies.
That assessment found Rivkin was displaying “suicide tendencies” and prison doctors called in his personal psychiatrist, Dr Keith Roberts, at about 7pm.
The director of periodic detention with the NSW Department of Corrective Services, Steve D’Silva, said Rivkin was released into his doctor’s care at 8.45pm.
Full Text
STRIPPED of his flamboyant persona and flash cars, Rene Rivkin returned to a Sydney jail yesterday, only to be released six hours later after again displaying suicidal tendencies.
A week after he tried to take his own life, a lucid Rivkin re- entered periodic detention at Long Bay Jail at 3pm yesterday.
The disgraced stockbroker was clinically assessed on being inducted into the prison hospital and transferred to a single ward under 24-hour supervision by hospital staff.
That assessment found Rivkin was displaying “suicide tendencies” and prison doctors called in his personal psychiatrist, Dr Keith Roberts, at about 7pm.
Dr Roberts made a similar diagnosis and recommended Rivkin be removed from detention.
The director of periodic detention with the NSW Department of Corrective Services, Steve D’Silva, said Rivkin was released into his doctor’s care at 8.45pm.
It was unclear whether he returned to St Vincent’s hospital — where he was discharged on Tuesday — or went to his Point Piper home.
Mr D’Silva said Rivkin had not made another attempt on his life after returning to prison.
“There was no episode of attempted suicide or misbehaviour; it was the result of the clinical assessment,” Mr D’Silva said.
Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham said Rivkin had shown “suicide tendencies”.
“Mr Rivkin will serve the weekend detention later as a continuation of his sentence,” he said in a statement.
Earlier in the afternoon, Rivkin was driven by his wife Gayle to Long Bay in an early 1990s maroon BMW318i, worth less than $15,000, a fraction of the cost of some of his previous cars.
Gone was the aura of flash cash that was once dominated his persona, although his trusty family dogs, a golden labrador and a white Samoyed, accompanied the Rivkins on the drive.
Rivkin, 60, now has eight more weekends of his nine-month periodic detention left to serve.