A MOUNT Gambier man with a history of incidents at the Mount Gambier Hospital was released on bail last week despite another act of disorderly behaviour in the emergency department last month.
As new details emerged surrounding other recent incidents at the Mount Gambier Hospital last week, Daniel Peter Schenk was appearing unrepresented in court for a bail application regarding his own unsavoury behaviour at the health facility.
The prosecution said Schenk was acting disorderly in the waiting room of the emergency department on September 24.
Schenk was lying across benches in the waiting room after already being treated and discharged by hospital staff.
When he was asked to leave, he began abusing staff and police had to be called to arrest him.
He was released on police bail, however the following day he was arrested again after causing a disturbance in the reception of a local hotel.
Schenk has previously been sentenced for inappropriate behaviour at the hospital, including two separate incidents in February and March this year.
The first incident occurred on February 8 when Schenk attended the emergency department of the hospital.
A female staff member told the defendant he did not require medical treatment, which caused him to become aggressive and abusive.
Another male staff member at the hospital recognised the escalating situation and intervened.
The defendant punched the man to the eye, causing a cut which required medical treatment.
Schenk pushed another woman before police attended and arrested him.
A similar incident occurred on March 4 at around 12.30pm when Schenk attended the premises again.
He was lying across the emergency department doorway smoking a cigarette before a female staff member told him he was not allowed to smoke in the area.
Schenk became aggressive and entered the building, where he began swearing at the staff member.
She became frightened and moved members of the public in the waiting area to nearby offices for their protection.
Schenk began pacing up and down the waiting room and threatened to kill the staff member.
She activated a code black distress signal, which is used to rapidly attract a police presence.
He was sentenced to eight months and four weeks imprisonment, however only served a portion of the sentence and was released on a bond.
Schenk has breached that bond by committing two offences of disorderly behaviour last month.
However, Magistrate Teresa Anderson still elected to release Schenk on bail until a further hearing this week.
“If there is a report of similar incidents, you will be told you cannot remain in the community,” Magistrate Anderson said.
“You will be in prison even though you do not want to be.”
Schenk was released on bail and the matter was adjourned until yesterday.
He appeared in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court, this time represented by a lawyer.
Defence counsel asked for an adjournment to analyse reports regarding the defendant’s mental health.
The matter was put off for a month to allow time for defence counsel to take instructions.
