A Belgian chef, who has been in Australia for three months, allegedly choked a guest at the Canberra hostel where he was working.
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Anthony Robert Vandiest, 37, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court, charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, choking, suffocating or strangling a person and property damage.
Vandiest allegedly choked a male stranger at The Village hostel in Civic.
The alleged victim was sitting in the communal games room watching TV when Vandiest allegedly told the guest to leave, and started shouting and swearing when the guest asked Vandiest to provide proof that he was the manager of the hostel.
The Belgian then allegedly grabbed the guest by his neck and pushed his head into the couch where he was sitting.
He is then said to have punched the man in the head, cracking his glasses and making his face bleed.
Vandiest is also accused of holding the hostel guest's wrists down while pressing his knees into the man's chest, stopping him from breathing "for a few seconds".
The 37-year-old did not enter any pleas to the charges on Wednesday.
The court heard the Belgian national was on a three-year bridging visa as a "highly skilled chef", and came to Australia with his partner and toddler.
Vandiest appeared via audio-visual link before magistrate Jane Campbell, muttering under his breath as his Legal Aid lawyer, Jeremy Banwell, applied for bail on his behalf.
When a prosecutor opposed bail, Vandiest called her submissions a "stand-up comedy".
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The prosecutor argued Vandiest was a flight risk who would potentially not return to face the charges, and noted Vandiest had recently been convicted of stalking in Cooma.
The chef appeared disgruntled, saying "I don't like this country" and "I used to work at a five-star restaurant but now I work at a hostel".
At one point, Vandiest stated: "I think this is defamation of character ... Can I have my right to free speech?"
Mr Banwell argued conditions could be put in place to prevent Vandiest fleeing, but insisted against the chef having to surrender his passport, which was his only form of identification.
Ms Campbell granted Vandiest bail but ordered him to surrender his passport and not to be in 100 metres of an international point of departure.
Vandiest is scheduled to appear in court again on August 3.
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