A man accused of hitting a Chinese shop owner after he refused to let him buy goods on credit has appeared in Dili municipality Court.
According to the facts read by the Presiding Judge, the incident occurred after the accused (MG) went to the shop about 4pm on 25 July 2015 and asked the victim (HY) if he could pay for the goods later.
The court heard that the accused returned to the shop at 8pmdrunk and continued to ask if he could have the goods, but the victim repeatedly refused.
The accused then took a metal pole and started smashing up the shop before punching the victim until his mouth began to bleed.
When the judge asked the accused for his response he said that he agreed with the facts as outlined.
The victim told the court the matter had now been resolved.
“He has apologized and he would like to pay for what he has destroyed, but I do not want [compensation],” HY said to the court.
The prosecution called for the court to hand down a suspended sentence as a deterrent to the offender.
However, the Public Defender asked the court to dismiss the case as both parties had resolved the matter and the accused had promised not to repeat his actions again.
After hearing the declarations, the Presiding Judge handed down a suspended sentence to the accused.
