A Wollongong man who cut off his penis with a multi-tool last month has spoken about what led to the alarming act of self harm.
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Speaking after he appeared in Wollongong Local Court on unrelated matters, the man confirmed he was drunk when he carried out the act.
"It was a heavy amount of alcohol," said the 25-year-old, who the Mercury has chosen not to identify.
Emergency services were called to the man's home just after 3pm on February 23 with reports he was bleeding profusely after cutting his penis off and putting it in a drawer.
He and the severed appendage were taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
On Wednesday, the man said he was in hospital for more than two weeks, but admitted his memory of the incident was unclear.
"It was a bit ...uh ... a bit hard to remember what happened when I woke up in hospital but ... as I started to talk to the nurses and stuff ...," he said.
He declined to answer any more questions about that day or his current state of health.
However, it can be revealed the incident isn't the first time the man has come to the attention of authorities due to his excessive alcohol intake - although none had such serious consequences.
In October last year he was arrested for cracking a restaurant window in Crown Street after downing 15 alcoholic drinks before midday.
A month later, he drank a third of a bottle of whiskey before jumping on the roof of a Holden Commodore near McCabe Park.
When police arrested him at his house that afternoon, the man said "I only did it because I am drunk."
The man had been due to face Wollongong Local Court to answer property damage charges on Tuesday but failed to show, prompting the magistrate to issue a warrant for his arrest.
He was apprehended overnight and faced court on Wednesday, where he admitted his guilt.
His lawyer alluded to the man's self-harm incident during her submissions, saying it occurred during a period of "extreme intoxication".
She said the man had been working as a cook up until 2020 but had been unemployed since the pandemic hit.
"His drinking has escalated in that period of time," she said.
Magistrate Claire Girotto placed the man on a 12-month community correction order with supervision from the Illawarra Drug and Alcohol Service.
Read more court and crime stories here.
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