A paediatrician has told a court he hog-tied a child during a consultation as a distraction technique.
Dr Nevill Davis, 60, is standing trial at Southport Magistrates Court after pleading not guilty to a count of common assault.
Davis is accused of first tying up the then seven-year-old boy, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and then sitting on him.
Davis, who denied a further claim raised in court that he'd threatened to flush the boy's head down a toilet following the consultation, said he was attempting to calm the boy so he could speak to his mother.
He said the boy's mother had fears he had Asperger's and Davis was attempting to explain to her why, in his opinion, that was unlikely.
"In trying to discuss that with his mother it was very difficult because of a lack of clear, quiet discussion due to disturbances from (the boy) in the corner," Davis told the court.
"After 20-25 minutes of not getting anywhere I said `behave or I'll tie you up'. His eyes opened wide and he said `yeah, do that, that'll be fun' or words to that effect."
Davis said he tied up the boy twice, once on a chair and then again on the floor.
He claimed he'd got the mother's consent, claiming she'd said "yes, anything" after he'd asked if it was okay to tie the boy's wrists and ankles.
The boy's mother, who earlier told the court Davis had smiled as he tied up the child, stormed from the courtroom as Davis gave his testimony.
Davis also denied sitting on the boy later in the consultation.
The mother claimed he'd ordered the boy to lie on his stomach before sitting on the small of his back, laughing when the child cried at him to get off because he was hurting him.
"He just kept sitting there and was laughing and I was getting more agitated," she said.
"He (Davis) thought it was funny."
Davis argued the boy had hit his mother during the consultation and she had pleaded with him to show her how to stop his tantrums.
He said he'd displayed a squatting technique as an effective method to calm a child.
"She said `what can I do?' and I said `maybe you'll have to restrain him'," he claimed.
Davis denied the boy cried or that he laughed at any point during the consultation.
The mother denied being hit or having sought advice from Davis.
She conceded during cross examination she was seeking damages via a civil suit from Davis for both her son and herself but denied the claims were driven by a possible financial benefit.
"This has never been about money," she said.
The trial will resume on February 18 next year.
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