By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A drunken man, angry that his partner’s father didn’t pick up duty-free cigarettes from an overseas trip, has repeatedly bashed his partner and trashed her house during a violent rage, a court has heard.
As the man’s abusive rant flared on 21 August, the partner called her parents and tried to pack clothes to take her and her daughter to stay at her mother’s place.
She was punched several times, including in the face.
After the initial assault, she confronted him about “hitting a woman”, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard.
He raised his fists threateningly. She grabbed his testicles but was overpowered by his choking hold.
The man kicked her in the stomach.
As she got up crying, he threw a clothes basket across the room, hurled two clothes horses over her head and flipped over the kitchen table.
When the partner’s parents arrived, the man abused the mother and punched the father in the face.
The partner tried to intervene by punching the man to the head. He bit into her left thigh.
Police arrested the man at the house. He was taken to Narre Warren police station and then Casey Hospital to have his injuries assessed.
The man faced Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 1 October on multiple charges of assault as well as breaching a limited family-violence intervention order at the time.
His defence lawyer told the court his 39 days in remand– his first time in custody – had been an “eye-opener”.
“It’s not a place he’s ever going to go back to.”
Police sought a further jail term given he had several times been previously convicted of assaulting the same victim.
“His behaviour is clearly escalating,” police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Luke McDonald said.
Magistrate Pauline Spencer noted the man had “not got far” on his current community corrections order, including turning up to appointments while drunk.
“You concede yourself you’re causing a great deal of harm to your partner over a great period of time.”
She jailed the man for two months, including time already served in remand.
When released, the man was ordered to re-start his CCO with judicial monitoring, alcohol treatment and violent-offending programs.
He was served with a full family-violence intervention order protecting his partner.
