A husband who is accused of repeatedly slapping his wife after becoming angry that she had not cooked him dinner has been granted bail, despite telling gardai that he would “go to India and not return”.
The accused, who is aged in his forties and cannot be identified because the proceedings were held ‘in camera’, is charged with assault causing harm on May 5 last, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Garda James Norris told Dún Laoghaire District Court that the alleged injured party had been in bed when the accused returned home late at night intoxicated.
He said the man allegedly slapped his wife several times, pulled the duvet from her and followed her into the kitchen area of their apartment.
It was alleged he then slapped her in the face again, causing her to fall to the ground, before squeezing her wrists and twisting her leg while she was on the floor.
The witness told the court that the alleged incident only stopped when the woman said she would call gardaí. The court was told that the woman, who was not at the hearing, is now seeking a safety order through the Family Courts.
Garda Norris objected to bail under the O’Callaghan rules, telling the court that the accused had said during interview that he would “go to India and not return”.
The garda said the accused man had a flight booked for later this month and described him as a flight risk. He also cited the seriousness of the charge in his objections.
Defence solicitor, Patricia Camillon, said her client had strong ties to the jurisdiction, including through his wife and children.
The court heard that the accused works part-time and cares for the couple’s children while his wife works in a hospital.
Ms Camillon said the family may now face childcare difficulties because of the incident and submitted there may have been misunderstandings during interview, as her client’s English is limited. She told the court that the accused had a return flight booked.
Ms Camillon said her client was willing to surrender his passport permanently and had never previously been before the courts or on bail.
Judge Conor Fottrell said he had considered the garda objections carefully but was satisfied they could be addressed through strict bail conditions.
Bail was granted on the accused’s own bond of €500 together, with an independent surety of €500.
Conditions include the accused surrendering his passport, signing on at a garda station three times a week, providing a mobile phone number to gardaí and notifying gardaí of any change of address.
The accused was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear again before Cloverhill District Court on May 13.