Bunbury hostage incident 'culprit' to appear in court

A 53-year-old man involved in a hostage incident, who was taken into custody following a stand-off with the police in the Australian town of Bunbury, is expected to appear before the District Court in Perth via video link this afternoon.

According to police, he took a man from a local laundromat hostage and held him at a nearby park on Thursday evening, reported ABC News.

He is yet to face charges relating to the incident which took place in a Bunbury park overnight.

He was arrested by police shortly before 7:00 am this morning after a stand-off that lasted for over 12 hours.

In 2012, David Charles Batty had held his 79-year-old father hostage in a car, where he had an LPG bottle and a cigarette lighter and indicated he was going to cause an explosion.

A bench warrant had been issued for Batty in June 2014 after he escaped from the Romily House complex, which provides accommodation for people with a chronic mental illness.

At the time, he was due to be sentenced on charges of aggravated assault with intent to commit a crime, attempting to cause an explosion and deprivation of liberty after a hostage situation in Kings Park in 2012. But he failed to appear in court.