Sydney, April 27: Former Australian cricketer and commentator Michael Slater has been taken to hospital in Sydney due to mental health problems. The news comes after domestic violence charges against him were dismissed on mental health grounds.
Slater was due to appear in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday after the 52-year-old made an appeal to have the charges brought up under the Mental Health Act. Last year, Slater was arrested after he allegedly sent multiple text messages and made phone calls to her ex-partner after stalking and harassing her in October.
In a Fox Sports report, Police Sgt. Lachlan Kirby was heard telling the court that Slater had been detained by police officers and paramedics Tuesday night and taken to a mental health facility in the North Beaches region of the city. town.
His lawyer, Richard Pontello, appeared via video link and gave his consent for Justice Ross Hudson to issue his decision in Slater’s absence.
“The former leadoff hitter sent 66 text messages and made 18 phone calls to his former partner over approximately two and a half hours on the night of December 14, the court heard. The court heard that his ex-partner had blocked his number, but he sent her a barrage of messages via WhatsApp while he logged in with the name ‘MJS,'” the report further said.
The report further said that Pontello told the court last week that Slater suffered from various mental illnesses, including major depressive disorder and ADHD at the time of the crime, but was in remission.
“He previously told the court that Mr. Slater had spent 108 days in a rehabilitation facility from January to March of this year. He argued that there was a public interest in him being treated under the Mental Health Act so that he could continue with your treatment.” added the report.
Before his mental health crumbled, Slater had been removed from the Channel 7 commentary panel ahead of Australian summer 2021/22 due to “budgetary constraints”. At the time, reports emerged that Slater’s infamous tweets against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in May 2021 partially contributed to his departure from Channel 7.
In a series of fiery tweets, Slater controversially accused Morrison of having “blood on his hands” for preventing 40 Australian citizens participating in the first half of IPL 2021 from returning from India, where the second wave of COVID-19 infections stopped the tournament.
“If our government cared about the safety of Australians, they would let us go home. It’s a shame! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this? How about you fix the quarantine system? I had permission from the government for IPL work, but now I have government neglect,” Slater had tweeted.
His second tweet read: “Incredible to bring out the PM on an issue that is a human crisis. The panic, the fear of all Australians in India is real! How about you take your private plane and come and witness the bodies on the street!”