A man has appeared at the Dili municipality court (DMC) after he was accused of hitting his sister-in-law until she lost consciousness.
According to facts read by the Presiding Judge, the incident occurred after the victim asked the defendant’s wife, who was preparing beans at the time, to wash up after cooking.
The court heard the victim had only wanted to remind her as she sometimes forgot to wash up, but the woman had complained to her husband.
The accused, known as CN, then came out of his room, threw out all the beans and began kicking other utensils in the kitchen.
He also shouted at the victim “Why did you do that?” before slapping and hitting her.
The victim later reported the incident to police.
The accused told the court that during the two years the victim lived with him and his wife she often behaved rudely.
“Sometimes my wife did the washing up, but the victim always said she did not and she does not have good manners,” he said in court.
The defendant said that he had always been patient with the victim despite her bad behavior, but admitted that on this occasion he had lost his temper and hit her.
He also apologized to the court for his actions.
The defendant received a one-year suspended sentence, with the presiding judge warning him he would face prison if he committed a similar offence again.
