By Mary Ward
A man accused of stabbing a Service NSW employee on Friday will remain in custody for at least eight weeks despite his lawyer’s attempts to have him transferred to a psychiatric facility.
Mahmoud Salhab, 37, did not appear in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday morning where it was decided he would undergo a mental health assessment.
Police at the Haymarket Service NSW branch where an employee was stabbed on Friday.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Members of the Salhab’s family attended the courthouse but did not sit in on the hearing.
Salhab’s lawyer, Javid Faiz, initially asked for his client to be transferred to a mental health facility. The magistrate determined there was insufficient evidence for that to occur and instead ordered a mental health assessment be completed in custody, acknowledging this would present a “time lag”.
Faiz told the court he had struggled to obtain instructions from his client due to his mental health issues, and that there had been concerns raised by corrective officers at Surry Hills Police Station about managing Salhab outside of a psychiatric facility, which contributed to the decision for him to not appear via videolink from the station for Saturday’s hearing.
Salhab is accused of stabbing a Service NSW employee in the lower back, chest and shoulder at the organisation’s Haymarket branch about 9.20am on Friday.
The 54-year-old male victim was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical but stable condition following surgery on Friday.
A Service NSW spokesperson confirmed the man was still in hospital on Saturday, and the organisation was in contact with his family to receive regular updates on his condition.
Speaking outside court, Faiz acknowledged the allegations against his client were “quite serious in nature” but he still intended to apply for bail once the mental health assessment was obtained.
“He has had some mental health issues for quite some time now, and he has undergone treatment in the past,” he said.
The mental health report will be presented on June 23, when Salhab is also expected to appear before Downing Centre Local Court via videolink.
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