BATU PAHAT: A 34-year-old contractor was sentenced to one month's jail by the magistrate's court here today after he pleaded guilty to physically assaulting his wife just because she asked him to stop at a shop to buy food last month.
The father of one, however, was released today since his jail sentencing started on the date of his arrest on Sept 20.
The man pleaded guilty to committing the offence when the charge under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt was read to him by the court interpreter before Magistrate Suhaila Shafi'uddin.
According to the facts of the case, the man had committed the offence by punching his 32-year-old wife six times inside a car in Jalan Lukas, Taman Soga here at 2.20pm on Sept 19.
Police received a report from a female doctor claiming she was assaulted by her husband after she asked him to stop at a shop to buy food.
The man ignored her request, leading to an argument between them, during which he punched her right arm six times.
The man, who was unrepresented, appeared emotional as he appealed for a lighter sentence.
"I still love my wife and my child. After 40 months of being in custody, I want to see them. I can no longer bear staying in jail," he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip prosecuted.
Earlier, the prosecution presented a statement from the wife, which was heard in court, expressing her disappointment with the man's hot temper and frequent physical abuse.
"I am afraid of my husband. I no longer want to live with him. I do not understand why I am often beaten without reason," the victim said in the statement.