Man who broke wife’s jaw awaits appeal verdict

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A man sentenced to seven years in prison for violently assaulting his wife, leaving her with a fractured jaw and the loss of nine teeth, will have his appeal verdict issued by the High Criminal Appeals Court on July 28.

The Lower Criminal Court had earlier convicted him of assault under the influence of narcotics, causing permanent injury, and possession of a banned substance. Prosecutors said the man’s actions left his wife with lasting physical damage assessed as a 10 per cent permanent disability.

According to the victim’s testimony, she was asleep when her husband suddenly woke her, sprayed an unknown gas in her face, and began behaving erratically. He reportedly pushed her off the bed, attempted to restrain her, and then began punching her repeatedly in the face. She alleged that he slammed her head against the floor multiple times, causing heavy bleeding from her nose and mouth.

As she attempted to get up, he restrained her again and struck her with a metal weight on her knee and shoulder. The assault ended when the man’s mother and brother arrived and knocked on the bedroom door. She managed to escape when the door was momentarily opened.

The brother later told prosecutors he rushed upstairs after hearing screams and found the woman severely injured, with visible facial swelling and bleeding. Her teeth, he noted, appeared to have been knocked out. He advised her to leave the house and file a police complaint. The accused reportedly responded to his family’s concerns with indifference and fled the scene before police arrived.

A forensic medical report confirmed that the injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma. The victim required over 20 days of medical treatment. Her jaw was fractured in multiple places, and she lost nine teeth. Toxicology tests revealed the defendant had 175 nanograms per millilitre of a psychoactive substance in his system at the time of the incident. He admitted during questioning to having consumed the drug and said he possessed it for personal use.

The case is currently under review by the High Criminal Appeals Court.