This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A man in his 50s with 10 prior domestic violence convictions has received a suspended prison sentence after assaulting his wife again.

According to legal sources Tuesday, Judge Shin Hye-won of Ulsan District Court's Criminal Division 2 sentenced the man, identified only as A, to two years in prison suspended for three years on charges including habitual assault. The incident occurred in March, when A struck his wife on the head and kicked her in the side at a restaurant in Ulsan.

He then grabbed her by the hair and dragged her roughly 25 meters before hitting her on the head again.

A had been drinking at the restaurant when he asked his wife to bring him a toothpick. When she responded, "Why do you always make me do things like this?" and glared at him, he flew into a rage and attacked her.

After his wife called police, A fled the scene but returned home that evening and smashed the front door handle and a closed-circuit television camera.

Despite having been punished 10 times for domestic violence, A struck his wife again, leading to the trial.

The court said the victim, despite enduring domestic violence, did not want her husband punished because of concerns about supporting their children. "The defendant appears to have reflected on his actions during his period of detention, and it is judged that a suspended sentence is consistent with the victim's wishes," the court said in explaining the sentencing.

However, the court ordered A to undergo probation and complete 40 hours of domestic violence recidivism prevention education.


paq@heraldcorp.com