BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

A MAN who admitted to beating up his wife and son over $20 and a missing mobile phone was sentenced yesterday to serve six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to the six counts of causing hurt.

The court document submitted by prosecuting officer Shamshuddin Hj Kamaluddin states that on February 14, the defendant had expected to receive $20 from his wife for selling tyres around the neighbourhood but he was only given $15 as the wife had used part of the money to buy groceries.

The defendant refused to accept his wife’s explanation and insisted on being given the $20.

Despite the wife coming up with the remainder of money by borrowing from her son, the defendant remained angry and kicked her leg and told her to sit down.

Later that day, Mahdzidi realised that his mobile phone was missing and accused his two sons for stealing the phone. When the sons denied the allegation, the defendant became enraged and burned $19.

Mahdzidi felt that the missing phone was a conspiracy by his 20-year-old son and his friend, a co-worker, to turn him into a good man. The defendant later forced a confession from his eldest son, about the so-called conspiracy.

When the son returned from work at 1am, the defendant called his son to ask about whether his friend turned up for work. When the son did not answer after being asked repeatedly, the defendant then slapped his wife several times. The defendant also got a hold of a pair of pliers and used it on his wife.

The questioning and abuse lasted until 6am, during which he had slapped and punched his wife several times, rubbed the pair of pliers on her forehead and also choked her.

The son was also slapped and punched by the defendant several times. Mahdzidi had kicked and hit his son’s body and legs as well as stomped his son’s head, body and feet.

While her husband was asleep, the wife took her children and went to the police station to lodge a report. Mahdzidi was arrested by the police on the same day.

After Mahdzidi was charged at the Magistrates’ Court on February 17, he was released on a $5,000 bail and two local sureties with conditions not to approach the wife and son at their home in Kg Lumapas.

However, despite the conditions imposed by the court, the defendant went to the address in Kg Lumapas on March 1 at about 6pm to tell his wife about their marriage problem.

The defendant then started to ask “strange” questions and make “outlandish” accusations against his wife.

He interrogated his wife until 12am and took a break for an hour before continuing on.

For the next eight hours, the defendant continued to interrogate her during which he would choke her and pull her hair. The defendant also called his son into the room and slapped him for some time before telling him to return to his room.

The defendant also called all his children to the living room where he was questioning his wife, after the latter went to her son’s room asking for their help.

The questioning only stopped at 8am when four police personnel from the Putat Police Post arrived and arrested the defendant for hitting his wife and son. The defendant’s bail has been revoked ever since.

In delivering the sentencing verdict yesterday, the presiding magistrate Ak Shahyzul Khairuddien Pg Abd Rahman described the defendant Mahdzidi’s action as an atrocious case of domestic violence.

The magistrate said as father and husband, the defendant was expected to take care of the family and to show kindness and compassion. “(He) was supposed to protect them from the dangers of the world, instead he became a danger to the family,” said the magistrate.

He went on to say that as a father, the defendant is expected to be a role model to his son but instead of being a good example, he has shown how to bully and instil fear in the household.

The Brunei Times