Mr. Salameh first raised suspicions when off-duty Senior Constable Michael Tillman asked him why he was trying to break into a car. Mr. Salameh then allegedly lunged at the officer brandishing what appeared to be a chisel. He fled the scene before boarding a bus which had been forced to stop in slow moving traffic. He ordered the driver to disembark telling the passengers to remain in their seats. Mr. Salameh was however unable to start the bus and was foiled in his getaway.

Arriving at the scene Senior Constable Michael Tillman was once again threatened with the chisel before Mr. Salameh fled. Although police lost track of him after he was spotted making his way through the Westfield shopping centre in Parramatta with no shirt on he was later placed under arrest following a phone call from a member of the public claiming that there was a strange man hiding in their garage.

When Mr. Salameh was taken into custody it was discovered that his bum-bag contained a pair of scissors, a knife and a screwdriver as well as a chisel.

Magistrate Vivien Swain has refused Mr. Salameh bail, even though he has not asked for it, and described him as a dangerous threat to the community.

Seven people, one woman and six men, remain in police custody after the New Years Day kidnappings which followed a heated dispute between two groups – the reason for which is still unclear.

Earlier today, the three men who had apparently been held hostage in a St Albans shed in west Melbourne for four days were released following the intervention of the Special Operations Group. The heavily armed officers freed the men from a padlocked shed at the rear of the property after a search warrant was granted.

The police search came after a series of arrests starting late last night after a man who was with the hostages was apprehended in Epping Street. In the early hours of this morning police then intercepted two vehicles and arrested five men in relation to firearms charges and for further questioning. At 5am the search warrant was carried out on the Crosby Court address which had been recently sold and laid empty save for a mess of car parts, trailers and a Ford Falcon in the front yard.

Neighbours spoke of frequent coming and going of late at the address which has evoked memories of the notorious biker wars of the 1980’s.

The man was apprehended after a manhunt was launched by police following reports of two separate incidents of young boys being kissed and touched on Saturday night, then another the next day at Cowra McDonalds where a young girl was kissed.

In the first assault the man, described as ‘dodgy looking’ by mum Jasmine, attacked her son as she was buying her kids an ice-cream at the Drummoyne restaurant. He apparently was seen waiting outside the toilets before backing up to the children’s table and planting a kiss squarely on the lips of the 4-year-old boy. He then fled, leaving a lollipop as a souvenir.

Just hours later he struck again, this time in Sylvania in Sydney’s south where an 11-year-old boy was approached in the toilets before being again kissed by the man. The Cowra assault involved a 9-year-old girl who was kissed on the lips outside the McDonalds. The man was seen to flee from both the Drummoyne and Cowra scenes in a white hatchback, believed to be a Hyundai Getz.

Following the public release of a description of the man he was spotted in the Airport carpark before being cornered by police. With any luck he will end up in a cell where inmates will treat him to a happy meal.

Cooper has been in hiding since the much publicised incident, which took place last weekend in the early hours of Sunday morning, no doubt suggested to do so by the Queensland and Australian Rugby unions who have both launched their own investigations into the case.

Irrespective of whether he can remember stealing anything he would still be the only Wallaby to take home any form of prize this season.

The case revolves around missing laptops that belonged to a pair of overseas students that had been renting the Surfers Paradise home. Police officials will allege in court that 21-year-old Cooper broke into the dwelling before making off with the computers.

One of the few successes on the disastrous Wallaby summer tour to Britain, where the hopes of a grand slam were undone by a draw with Ireland and a disastrous loss to the woeful Scottish, Cooper had spent the night at Gold Coast buck’s party and understandably had sketchy memories of the evening. He has failed to return calls from media since the allegations.

The public has been urged not to make any pre-judgements of the flashy playmaker, other than over his dodgy mohawk, before Cooper appears in court.

This is not the first time that Cooper has fallen foul of the law; earlier this year the ARU fined him $10,000 after breaking a taxi window in an apparent alcohol-related incident. He was also disciplined by the ARU for his part in Canberra food fight. Apparently the fact that the latest incident took place while he was on holiday and not officially at work means he will not be likely to lose his job.