Man allegedly threw boiling water onto woman, two dogs

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged family violence.

A man who allegedly threw boiling water over his partner and two dogs was refused bail after concerns were raised in court that his behaviour was escalating against the woman.

He allegedly threw a kettle containing boiling water at the woman on Saturday morning (26 April), an ACT Policing spokesperson said.

This allegedly caused burns to various parts of her body, while boiling water also allegedly hit two dogs.

The woman called for help that same morning, and police arrived at the home in north Canberra a short time later.

The 43-year-old man, who isn’t named to avoid identifying the woman, was charged with assault and cruelty to an animal when he faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday (28 April) and applied for bail, which was opposed by the prosecution.

The prosecutor alleged that the man had taken the kettle into the bedroom before throwing it at the woman, which demonstrated a level of forethought.

Also, he alleged the man had thrown the kettle with such force that the boiling water landed on two small dogs.

The prosecutor said the woman told police the man’s behaviour was aggravated by substance use and she wanted to end the relationship.

The court heard the man was already on a suspended sentence for unrelated offending, as well as bail for a previous alleged assault committed against the same woman.

This meant the prosecutor described Saturday’s allegations as an escalation in offending.

The man’s duty lawyer from Legal Aid stated that her client worked in the construction industry, provided financial support for his family and was making progress in his rehabilitation.

But Magistrate Alexandra Burt said she was “troubled” by the family violence allegations, saying bail conditions were already in place to protect the woman. However, the man had still allegedly gone on to throw boiling water onto her and the dogs.

She was concerned the previous court orders hadn’t prevented these allegations and said she did not have confidence the man would comply with additional bail conditions.

Bail was refused and the man was remanded in custody.

The matter will return to court in May. No pleas were entered.

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.