Second NCR patient briefly goes missing

TORONTO

TORONTO • Another man convicted of violent criminal offences and deemed to pose a significant risk to the public managed to briefly escape from a Toronto mental health treatment facility where he was being detained, police said Tuesday, confirming it was the second such incident this month.

Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said 27-year-old Ahmed Sualim, who was found “not criminally responsible” for a string of 2012 armed robberies and thefts, is now back in the custody of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

His absence lasted a few hours, unlike the disappearance of fellow CAMH resident Zhebin Cong who managed to walk away from the Centre and flee the country without raising any alarms.

Cong’s escape, reported to the public nearly two weeks after it happened, drew widespread public criticisms and even the ire of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who demanded answers from officials with both the police force and treatment centre.

Sidhu said police announced Sualim’s disappearance and flagged him as a potential public safety threat the same day he was reported missing. But she said that a previously announced review of internal processes will include a closer look at how incidents involving CAMH are shared with the public.

Sidhu said Sualim was last seen at 10:30 a.m. Monday, reported missing by CAMH later that day, and back in the centre’s custody by 6:30 the same evening.

CAMH did not respond to questions about Sualim’s disappearance or the circumstances surrounding it.

Last week, as word of Cong’s disappearance prompted consternation in Ontario’s political ranks, CAMH said it took the incident very seriously and had launched an internal review with special emphasis on reassessing all patient passes and privileges.

Both Cong and Sualim were living on CAMH’s secured forensic unit after courts ruled their mental illnesses rendered them “not criminally responsible” of violent offences.

Cong, 47, killed his roommate with a meat cleaver in 2014 and was found NCR on a charge of second-degree murder as a result of his mental illness, documents show.

He was out in the community on a short-term pass when he made his escape on July 3. Police have indicated he boarded an international flight, but have not disclosed his destination.

Ahmed Sualim