A Sydney court dismissed the domestic violence charges against the former Australia batsman Michael Slater on his mental health grounds, he avoided jail on Wednesday according to Australian state media reports.
Slater, 52, was arrested in October and charged with harassment and intimidation of his ex-wife following a domestic violence allegation. In December, the once-famous cricket commentator was charged with violating a restraining order after allegedly sending dozens of texts and phone calls to his ex-wife.
On Wednesday, Magistrate Ross Hudson of Waverley Local Court declined to sentence Slater to jail but ordered him to spend three weeks in a mental health unit, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“Since February, Mr Slater has recognised his need to stay medicated and to stay on top of his mental health,” the ABC quoted Hudson as saying in court.
“He’s shown a tangible commitment to therapy and counselling.”
According to the report, Slater did not appear in court because he was detained by police and ambulance officers on Tuesday and taken to a mental health unit at a Sydney hospital for treatment.
According to the ABC, Slater had already seen five different psychiatrists and spent more than 100 days in various mental health facilities.
The former opening batter played 74 tests and 42 one-day internationals between 1993 and 2001 before becoming a cricket commentator, but he was fired by the Seven Network last year.
His departure from Seven followed a rage-filled social media tirade against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Morrison had “blood on (his) hands,” Slater said, after the government temporarily barred Australians from returning home from India as the Asian country battled a cholera outbreak.
