A man sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment for repeated assaults on his wife was reminded by Rakiraki Magistrate Timoci Qalinauci that she was not his property.
The court convicted the man last month for a count each of assault, breach of domestic violence restraining order, and breach of bail conditions committed on September 27 last year.
Court records revealed the man was drinking alcohol when his wife told him to change his dirty clothes.
He became angry and punched her once on the head.
They later returned toward their home, where the man briefly apologised and asked his wife to go on an errand for him.
When she returned his wife saw him and waited at the nearby beach for him to pass. Instead, he called her over and punched her three times on the head and once on the mouth.
The man’s wife fled, but he followed, tore her clothes, and continued the assault. She sought refuge at a house but the man forced his way into the house, punched her twice more, and then left.
The matter was reported to the Rakiraki Police Station, and the victim was medically examined at Rakiraki Hospital.
Mr Qalinauci described the accused as a “bad character” in light of his previous conviction involving his wife as the victim, noting that domestic violence is prevalent in society and that women are often the victims. “You must learn to control your anger,” he said on March 18.
The magistrate labelled him a recidivist and a threat to his wife, noting that he committed the offence just nine days after the court had imposed a suspended sentence in his previous case.
