A 56-year-old man avoided being sent to jail when he was sentenced for attacking his wife by the ACT Supreme Court. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to family violence.
An argument over a husband’s gambling problem escalated into him repeatedly assaulting, as well as threatening to kill, his wife before she fled barefoot onto the street to seek help.
The man’s gambling had resulted in financial problems for both him and his wife by the time of the attack in February 2024, the ACT Supreme Court heard during his sentencing on Wednesday (26 November).
“Large amounts of money were lost at the casino, and on that day, the victim had had enough,” Acting Justice Patricia Kelly said.
They got into an argument before the man lost control of his temper, kicked his wife in the stomach and put his hands around her neck before telling her, “I’ll kill you”, while he walked off towards the kitchen.
The wife thought he was getting a knife and had to flee the family home, barefoot, to seek help from strangers.
Acting Justice Kelly said the wife didn’t have a mobile phone at the time, was from South Korea and spoke very little English, so she must have been very frightened and stressed when she fled.
“Your resort to physical violence lies squarely on you,” she told the man.
“You must understand [his name] that the community, including your partner, is entitled to be protected from the risk of further family violence offending.”
The 56-year-old, who isn’t named to protect his wife’s identity, was originally given more serious charges, but on the morning of his trial, he pleaded guilty to just one rolled-up count of assault.
Acting Justice Kelly accepted he hadn’t intended to use a knife when he walked towards the kitchen.
She noted how both he and his wife were now living together again and wished to continue their relationship.
The man was born in South Korea, had no prior criminal history and spent the last two decades in New Zealand and Australia working as a painter and a tiler.
Acting Justice Kelly said to ensure the seriousness of the offences was brought home to him, she would impose a term of imprisonment.
But she took into account how he’d spent 23 days in custody on remand and demonstrated a degree of insight into his offending as he’d identified strategies to manage his behaviour in the future.
The man was convicted and sentenced to six months’ jail, wholly suspended for a 12-month good behaviour order.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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