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The Public Prosecution has sought the maximum possible penalty against a man who allegedly tried to kill his former wife in a violent and bloody hammer attack.
The 43-year-old Ghanaian bus driver has denied dealing a barrage of blows on his ex-wife, a 38-year-old Kenyan housemaid, who suffered a skull fracture and lost five teeth in the alleged attack.
“The Public Prosecution asks that the defendant be penalised to the fullest extent of the law, and to receive a sentence he truly deserves,” a prosecution statement submitted yesterday read.
“The purpose of this punishment is to serve as a deterrent for such crimes, to deliver justice and to protect our community,” it added.
“God has blessed us with peace and security, which is a great gift, and this crime comes as a disturbance of this security.
“We hence beseech you to amputate any hand that tries to tarnish our nation’s shining record.”
The High Criminal Court said it would deliver a verdict in the case on May 27.
The court heard that in January this year, the defendant went to his former spouse’s residence in Sitra and forced his way in after she responded to a knock on the door.
A scuffle broke out and the enraged ex-husband reportedly overpowered the Kenyan woman, pushed her onto the bed, took out a green-coloured metal hammer and attacked her face with it.
After she lost consciousness, the blood-soaked defendant thought he had killed her and got up to wipe the blood splatters off the wall when she got an opportunity to get up and flee.
There was a knock at the door and she used that momentary distraction to run out of the room; a friend of hers had arrived to change a gas cylinder.
The victim was admitted to the Salmaniya Medical Complex’s accidents and emergencies department, where she was treated and underwent maxillofacial surgery to stabilise her wounds.
However, doctors were unable to reverse the effects of the vicious assault and a medical examiner ruled that her injuries constitutes a five per cent permanent injury.
A medical report revealed that the woman had sustained injuries to her head and ear, internal injuries in the skull, fractures in the jaws and had lost five of her upper teeth, multiple lacerations
Two days after the incident, she underwent plastic surgery to close her facial and scalp wounds, bleeding in the cornea. She was put on a diet of soft foods while she recovered.
A medical discharge report noted that she suffered cuts that reached up to the skull, exposed her cartilage, and also lost tissue and skin as a result of the attack.
The GDN earlier reported that the friend, who arrived at the door, had earlier agreed to help the woman replace her gas cylinder.
He was stunned to see her come rushing out in a distressed state with her face covered in blood, and stepped inside the apartment, attempting to restrain the defendant who managed to escape on to the street.
Judges heard that a second witness, a 24-year-old Bahraini man from Al Kharijiya, spotted the man’s bloodied shirt and immediately realised something was amiss.
He followed the fleeing defendant in his car and called the police while keeping an eye on him. The accused was apprehended and arrested shortly afterwards.
The victim’s sister, who was alerted and went to the hospital, said that it took two hours for her sibling to regain consciousness.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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