A man was yesterday fined $25,000 with an alternative of two weeks imprisonment, after admitting that he showed up at his common-law wife’s staff party, verbally abused her to force her to leave and later choked her.
Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry imposed the sentence on Eusi Francis, 29, who admitted that on December 22, at Georgetown, he unlawfully assaulted Dessa Arthur.
In presenting the facts of the case, Prosecutor Stephen Telford said that Francis went to Arthur’s staff party, where he became abusive in a bid to have the woman leave.
After leaving the party, Telford told the court that the two went to Regent Street, where Francis ordered the woman to hand over a bottle of vodka she had in her possession to a friend of his, whom they met. When she refused, the prosecutor told the court, Francis grabbed his wife and choked her.
“Did you choke her?” the magistrate later asked Francis.
“Yes, madam,” he replied, before explaining that he did not mean to do it. He also accepted that his actions were unbecoming, while adding that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time and had become annoyed that the woman had cursed him moments before.
After hearing the case, the magistrate ordered the man to pay the fine or spend two weeks in jail.
