A man was sent to the Mental Health Treatment Court yesterday after he admitted having a knife in a public place.

Valiant Santucci, 23, pleaded guilty to the offence in Magistrates’ Court after maintaining his innocence for more than two months.

The court heard that police were called to a disturbance at the Curving Avenue junction with King Street in Pembroke.

Officers saw Santucci sitting on a motorcycle and searched him, later finding a silver folding knife in his waistband.

Asked why he had it, Santucci said that the knife was “for my protection, just in case I need it”.

Police arrested him for possession of a bladed article. The incident happened on December 18 last year.

Santucci, from Pembroke, initially pleaded not guilty to the offence last year, but changed his plea yesterday.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson referred him to the Mental Health Treatment Court and extended his previous $2,000 bail.

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