Violent married men warned

The National National

By ALICE Osi’I
A MAGISTRATE has warned married men that the law guarding against domestic violence was to remind them that there is a better way to solve family problems.
Boroko District Court Magistrate Rosemary Koimo, while sentencing a husband to four months in jail, said domestic violence was a behaviour children picked up in the family.
“We are trying to stop domestic violence because your children are learning from you,” Koimo said.
“If you have sons, and they see you beating up a woman – their mother or step mother – they are going to think it is okay.”
She said sons would think because their father was doing it, it was okay to bash up wives.
“If you have daughters, they will grow up hating. They will either despise the mother or despise the father. The worse thing is that they will lose their respect for themselves.”
She said parents who were separated should think about the welfare of their children.
“You all should be concerned about the welfare of those children because they are here to stay,” Koimo said.
She sentenced Purai Pokiton to four month in jail for assaulting his wife on several occasions this year.
Koimo however suspended the sentence and placed Pokiton on a 12-month good behaviour bond on the condition that he:

  • not insult, nor apply any form of physical violence on the wife;
  • not threaten, harass, intimidate and insult the wife in any form of communication;
  • stops consuming any form of alcohol.