A man accused of pulling a wheel off a disability advocate's wheelchair outside a Newcastle hotel has faced court. The 23-year-old woman, who also has hearing and sight impairments, fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries in the incident on November 1.
Blake Frazer, 23, of New Lambton, appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He did not enter a plea, and the matter was adjourned for his solicitor to make representations to police.
Magistrate Caleb Franklin told Frazer he must enter a plea at the next court date. Frazer remains on bail and left the courthouse wearing a hooded jumper and cap.
Police were called to a hotel on King Street at Newcastle West about 2:20am after reports of an assault. CCTV footage allegedly showed Frazer pulling the wheel off the woman's wheelchair, causing her to fall, before he fled.
Police identified Frazer from the footage and arrested him at a unit on Turton Road, New Lambton, on November 2. He was charged and granted strict conditional bail.
The victim wrote on social media that a wheelchair is an extension of a person's body, and that damaging it while the user is in it constitutes assault.
