Hubby blamed in family feud

National

By GIDEON KINDIWA
A WOMAN, who was charged with damaging her husband’s vehicle, pleaded not guilty and blamed her husband for allegedly breaching a court order that provoked the offence.
Veronica Simon, from Ialibu, Southern Highlands told the Waigani District Court that a village court had issued a restraining order against her husband, Valen Rongo, not to go closer than 30-metres of her but he had breached it.
“The Erima Village Court gave him a restraining order (which says) he cannot come closer than 30-metres. Yet he breached the order and came searching for me at Sabama and assaulted me,” she claimed.
Simon said she was not guilty of the charge because she did not break the back windscreen of Rongo’s Toyota Vista.
“After he assaulted me, he drove out and the boys at Sabama threw stones at his car and smashed the glass.”
The incident happened on Dec 18, last year, between 5pm and 6pm.
The police brief, however, had a different story. It alleged that Rongo drove to Sabama to drop some of his in-laws and he saw some of Simon’s relatives standing there. Simon surprisingly attacked him and the others with a kitchen knife, but her sisters stopped her. She then threw a couple of stones which damaged the windscreen.
Rongo wanted to retaliate but was stopped by his brother-in-law who advised him not to do anything as there was a preventive order in place on a previous allegation against Simon for break and enter and damaging properties in September last year.
Magistrate Cosmas Bidar said the court accepted Simon’s plea and adjourned the matter to May 7 for hearing.