A man charged with making a vexatious call to an emergency service said he "was clueless" about triple zero having only one purpose because he is relatively new to the country, a court has heard.
The ACT Magistrates Court on Monday was told that the man, who has not pleaded to the charge, was living at a group accommodation in the ACT where the owner told him to call police if he saw illegal conduct.
Defence lawyer Eddie Chen said instructions via an Urdu interpreter with a mental health team, which assessed the defendant not needing treatment or care, were that the defendant "called triple zero many times" on Sunday and police told him not to call unless it was life threatening.
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Mr Chen said that there was "very little chance" his client understood what police were saying because of his limited grasp of English.
Speaking through an interpreter in court, the defendant said "I was clueless that that number is only used for emergency purposes".
"I'm new to the country and I was not aware," he said.
The defendant's lawyer applied for and was granted bail without opposition by the prosecution.
He must comply with only one condition: not to call triple zero unless for emergency purposes.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker reminded the defendant about the purpose of the number and that it was a crime not to front court again, set for March 28, unless he had a legitimate reason for his absence.
