Hedland man sentenced to suspended imprisonment order for assaulting partner ‘who spent money on clothes’

A Hedland man who punched his partner outside of the local Kmart because “she was spending money” on clothes has been sentenced to a seven month suspended term of imprisonment. The accused appeared before the Karratha Magistrates Court on September 20 for sentencing for one count of aggravated assault. He also entered guilty pleas for possession of cannabis and a breach of bail for failing to appear before the court. The court heard that on March 4 about 3.10pm outside the Kmart entrance of the South Hedland Shopping Centre, the accused punched the victim to the right side of her face, causing her to fall over. The accused made admissions to the police that the victim made him angry. “She was spending money on our clothes,” he said. The man was then found at Wickham in possession of 1 gram of cannabis on September 19 and police discovered a warrant was outstanding for failing to appear before the South Hedland Court on July 4. His lawyer William Dixon said his client accepted the facts of the offences. Mr Dixon said the man had served a prison sentence for similar offending which ended in mid-2021. “He has developed more self control to manage behaviour and has kept out of trouble since March,” he said. The police prosecutor said the man was convicted of assault of the same woman in February 2021 and May 2018. “His behaviour hasn’t changed, he still poses a threat to the partner,” she said. Magistrate Sarah Oliver said the man had entered pleas at a relatively early stage and sentencing had been delayed for a pre-sentence report which the accused did not participate in. “Mr Dixon says you are trying to change your ways,” she said. “You have to learn to manage your anger. You don’t have the right to punch her, punish her or embarrass her.” In relation to the assault charge, the man was sentenced to a seven-month imprisonment order, suspended for a period of 12 months. He was fined $100 with costs of $137 for the failure to appear charge and $300 for possession of cannabis.