A man accused of punching his wife when she suspected he was having an affair has been freed on bail.
Newry Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Lisburn, heard claims that as well as punching his wife three times “with a closed fist,” the 38-year-old – who is not being named to protect the children’s identity – shoved the couples’ two children, 13 and nine-years-old, out of the way during the incident on 14 July.
The Newry man, is charged with causing actual bodily harm to his wife and common assault of his children.
During a contested bail application on Monday, a police officer told the court that the defendant’s wife heard her husband on the phone with another woman with whom he was “allegedly having an affair” in the early hours of Tuesday.
Punched to the ground having sustained a cut to her forehead, she managed to get to her feet and call the police but her husband left and officers arrested him a short distance away.
The officer said police feared there was a risk of witness intimidation because within 20 minutes of being freed from police custody, the accused had sent his wife a WhatsApp message saying “look, we will get over it”.
He added there were also concerns that the defendant is also a flight risk as he had sent her another message saying that once he got his belongings, he was leaving the country “and never coming back”.
Defence solicitor Gerald Trainor argued that in actual fact, the complainant has texted his client as he walked out of the police station, revealing that according to the defendant’s case “she found him on the phone with another woman and she attacked him.”
Freeing the 38-year-old on his own bail of £250 and adjourning the case to August 5, District Judge Amanda Brady barred him from contacting his wife or children and to reside at an address approved by police.
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