Amir Banoub pleads not guilty to stalking, intimidation
A man’s stalking charge sparked an investigation into how his brother, Hans Morkos, came to drink meth oil from a wine bottle, which was eventually ruled as misadventure by police.
The Express
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The brother of an Annandale pharmacist in critical condition after drinking meth oil from a wine bottle has had an unrelated stalk/intimidation charge heard in Bankstown Court on Wednesday.
Amir Banoub, 42, pleaded not guilty to one charge of stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm.
Police said the alleged victim was also the woman who discovered his brother, Hans Morkos, unconscious in the pharmacy, and the stalk/intimidation charges led to police investigating Mr Morkos‘ poisoning.
NSW Police have said they are not treating the poisoned wine and intimidation charges as related.
Mr Banoub was not required to attend court in person and was represented by Marina Kiriakos.
When scheduling a court date to hear the matter, Ms Kiriakos argued a full day would need to be put aside to hear the case.
Magistrate Glenn Walsh disagreed, and said that would not be necessary, giving them four hours, which he determined would be an acceptable amount of time for examination and cross examination of the witness.
Ms Kiriakos also applied for a change of address in his bail conditions due to privacy concerns for her client.
Police have alleged that Mr Banoub arrived at her Campsie home, demanding money, on February 14.
Mr Banoub was arrested the next day.
The alleged victim has also filed an AVO against Mr Banoub.
Both the stalk/intimidation charges and the AVO matter are scheduled to be heard on January 20 with a callover scheduled for November 23 to confirm the dates ahead of the hearing.
The case of Mr. Morkos, his brother, is no longer being investigated by police as a criminal matter.
Instead, NSW Police have ruled it as a misadventure, as he unwittingly drank the meth oil from a wine bottle that was in a package untouched at Annandale Pharmacy, which he was operating at the time.
Mr Morkos, a father of two, remains in a coma after the poisoning.
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