Lautoka High Court

A father of two who assaulted his wife has been spared a jail term by the Lautoka High Court.

The accused has been sentenced to twelve months imprisonment suspended for five years by High Court judge Justice Riyaz Hamza.

The court heard that on September 6, 2019, the accused and his wife were at home when they had a verbal argument.

According to the facts of the case, the accused’s wife wanted to go to a nearby village but the accused did not like the idea.

He further suspected that his wife was having an extramarital affair and demanded she reveal the name of the person that she was chatting with on Facebook.

His wife denied the allegation and as a result, the accused punched his wife.

Justice Hamza said the 24-year-old took the responsibility for his actions and pleaded guilty to the charge.

The High Court considered that the accused was a person of good character, remorseful of his actions and he had reconciled with his wife.

He had also assured the court that he will not re-offend.

Justice Hamza adds that the man had spent almost five months in remand and the court deemed it appropriate to suspend his sentence.