A 43-year-old labourer, in a bid to save himself potential prison time, promised Magistrate Haymant Ramdhani, sitting at the Vigilance Magistrate’s court, that he would never consume alcohol and beat his wife again. The man, Wazir Mohamed, made the commitment after he appeared before the Magistrate to answer a charge of unlawful assault.
According to court records, the tipsy labourer went home last Monday in an intoxicated state, and was admonished by his wife.
Mohamed admitted to the court that he was upset at his wife’s remonstrations and as a result dealt her a few slaps.
In a plea of mitigation, the man expressed remorse for the incident and vowed not to ever hit his wife again. He added that this was the first time he has ever hit her.
However, Mohamed’s wife, Savitri Goedilall, was not present in court to ascertain his claims and the police could not provide any reasons for the woman being absent. The accused then indicated to the court that he is certainly sure that his wife had forgiven him and would not have given any evidence against him, even if she was present.
However, Prosecutor Clement Roberts objected to bail being granted to the defendant, citing the prevalence of matters of this nature, where husbands go home drunk and assault their spouses. He further stressed that Wazir is already facing another unlawful assault charge in the same court and had committed this new offence while out on bail. He surmised that the next time it might be a murder charge against the defendant, considering the nature of his existing charges. He added that it usually begins with a slap and would then gravitate into something more serious.
Nonetheless, Magistrate Ramdhani considered the facts before him, compounded by the man’s expression of remorse and promise not to commit the offence again, and granted him pre-trial liberty and $10,000 bail.