A schizophrenic who stripped off his clothes and threatened Police with a hammer after a chase through the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MAWI) was committed to the hospital under the Mental Health Act yesterday.

During a previous hearing at Supreme Court, Crown Counsel Cindy Clarke told how Marcel Reid Rubaine threatened to kill his girlfriend, Georgena Shanica Wilson on May 11.

The following day he was spotted by Police while sitting in his girlfriend's car. A chase ensued, during which Rubaine drove into a Police truck as he tried to escape.

He eventually crashed into an oncoming Police vehicle, causing almost $14,000 worth of damage and injuring a policeman.

An officer used incapacitating spray to try to bring Rubaine under control but the Jamaican-born father-of-one drove off again and went to MAWI, armed with a hammer.

When officers chased him, he threatened them with the hammer before dropping it and taking off his clothes.

The court heard that Rubaine had numerous previous convictions, including assaults on women and possession of weapons and drugs.

The defendant, of Secret Lane, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, possession of an offensive weapon in an increased penalty zone, assault causing actual bodily harm and using threatening words.

Yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves told Rubaine that, after taking into account the recommendations of psychiatrists, he had decided to make a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1968 admitting him to MAWI.

Mr. Greaves gave no indication the length of time Rubaine is to be held.