The former Australia Test batsman Michael Slater has had domestic stalking and intimidation charges against him dropped under mental health laws.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A Sydney magistrate dismissed the charges against the 52-year-old at a hearing on Wednesday, putting Slater into the care of a doctor for mental health treatment instead, according to court documents Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Slater, who played Test cricket for Australia from 1993-2001 scoring 5,312 runs, faced charges of stalking or intimidation, breaching a restraining order, and using a carriage service -- such as a phone, email or social media -- to menace, harass or offend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the eve of Slater's Wednesday hearing at Sydney's Waverley Local Court, police said they were called to an apartment in the city's Manly district following a report of domestic violence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On arrival Tuesday evening, police were told that a 52-year-old man had allegedly assaulted a 35-year-old woman, a New South Wales police spokesman said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The man, widely reported to be Slater but not formally named by police, was taken to the Northern Beaches Hospital for assessment under mental health legislation, the police spokesman said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Slater's admission to hospital was noted by the police prosecutor during the court hearing, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Magistrate Ross Hudson said there appeared to have been an "unravelling" of Slater's mental health, the paper reported.<\/p>\r\n\r\n