Central Coast dentist Steven Lin charged with using phone to menace ex partners
A prominent dentist with nearly 80,000 Facebook followers allegedly threatened to kill two of his ex partners while in the midst of an “ice bender”.
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A prominent dentist with nearly 80,000 Facebook followers allegedly threatened to kill two of his ex partners while in the midst of an “ice bender”.
Doctor Steven Morgan Lin, the principal at Helix Dentistry based in the Central Coast, was arrested in the Illawarra on Wednesday afternoon and charged with two counts of using a phone to menace and contravening an apprehended domestic violence order.
The 40-year-old author of The Dental Diet, who also featured in a 2014 TED Talk, applied for bail in Wollongong Local Court through his lawyer Michal Mantaj.
Documents tendered in court state police allege the offending occurred on Saturday afternoon when he first called his former girlfriend, who he separated with a couple of months ago, and then his ex wife, who he split with 15 months ago.
At 4.24pm his former girlfriend, who is a protected person in an apprehended domestic violence order with Lin, answered a call and the accused allegedly said: “I will kill you. I will hang you and kill you.”
The documents state the woman hung up and about 20 minutes later Lin called his ex wife, who is also a principal at the dentistry in Erina and Long Jetty, and allegedly threatened to kill her.
“I will slit your throat and rip your head off and hang your body in the garage,” he allegedly said.
Lin was reported to Lake Illawarra police who arrested him at an address in Cordeaux Heights.
In court, Mr Mantaj submitted his client had no previous convictions and if he were to be found guilty of the charges he is unlikely to be sentenced to full-time custody.
Mr Mantaj said Lin “lives in Terrigal usually”, however, was prepared not to enter the Central Coast and would reside with his parents in Figtree.
“He is the principal of a dental practice in the Central Coast,” the lawyer said.
“He doesn’t need to be there, but he needs to be out to manage it.”
Magistrate Claire Girotto granted Lin bail on the condition he live with his parents, not go to the Central Coast, report to police three days a week and allow them to inspect his phone when requested.
“The past few months he has been spiralling and it appears to be [because of] drugs,” Ms Girotto said.
“He was self medicating because he is so smart by taking meth. He must know as a medical practitioner there’s other treatments.”
Lin was also ordered to undertake the magistrates early referral into [drug and alcohol] treatment program.
The case returns to court in October.
Got a court yarn? Email dylan.arvela@news.com.au
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