Sutherland Court: Philip Soldat protests kidnapping charge
A man accused of failing to provide a vulnerable person with the “necessities of life” protested his arrest in court, alleging he presented under the “threat of menace”.
St George Shire Standard
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Philip Soldat did not have a lawyer defend him at Sutherland Court House when he presented on Wednesday. Instead, he read from printed copy on an A4 page defiantly out of turn, causing the magistrate to call on a sheriff.
“I am here only under duress, I believe I have done no wrong,” Soldat said. “I do not consent to conducting business with NSW Police. I accept its offer to proceed.”
Police arrested the 41-year-old man at a Mangrove Mountain home on January 7 and charged him with two offences. They alleged he kidnapped Nick Kurta, an 83-year-old man he knew, by checking him out of an aged-care facility in NSW without consent on November 20, 2019, and that he failed his legal duty to provide him with adequate medical care.
Police located Mr Kurta two days later across state lines in a Melbourne Hospital.
“ … Without reasonable excuse, (Soldat) recklessly fail(ed) to provide the necessities of life and thereby caused a danger of death to Nick Kurta,” NSW Police allege in court documents.
He did this “with the intention of obtaining an advantage, to wit, psychological satisfaction.”
Soldat has not formally entered any pleas – he signed court documents noting he did so “under the threat of menace”.
Presenting to Sutherland Court House in a dark grey suit and white business shirt, he began protesting the proceedings in front of magistrate Jayeann Carney before she had the opportunity to have the paperwork handed to her.
He ignored the magistrate’s repeated attempts to follow ordinary court procedures, continuing to read copy from the A4 page in defiance.
“(The charge sheet) is an empty piece of paper intended to mislead the tribunal,” he said.
The magistrate called for the sheriff, noting that Soldat did not present any threats of violence, but that he should be removed if he continued to ignore the rules of court. The magistrate and prosecutor went about its business by mostly speaking over Soldat’s reading.
After co-ordinating a time for evidence to be submitted with the prosecution, the magistrate adjourned the matter for March 11 at Sutherland Court House.