A Dunedin man who doused his pregnant partner in toilet water has been ordered to attend counselling.
Judge Peter Rollo said Jazz Matagi-Stevenson (26) was a perfect candidate for a sentence of supervision after the violent flare-up - ''so you become a better father and partner and member of the community''.
Matagi-Stevenson previously pleaded guilty in the Dunedin District Court to to possessing a weapon and assaulting a female
He and the victim had been in a relationship for nine years and have three children together, the court heard.
She was pregnant with the third when they were in the living room on September 11 as an argument erupted about the defendant not going to work.
Judge Rollo said the man had been having problems at his job and had taken it out on his partner.
When she began speaking to her sister on the phone, Matagi-Stevenson grabbed it out of her hand and threw it outside.
Then he went to the kitchen and began smashing plates on the floor. Once the tantrum was over, he took the victim by the arm and dragged her along the hallway.
The defendant let her go only when she began to cry.
The woman fled to the bedroom but shortly after, Matagi-Stevenson burst in with a bucket of water, which he poured over her.
It was toilet water, he said.
He refilled it, came back and repeated the treatment.
The victim showered and left the house but when she returned tempers rose again.
This time Matagi-Stevenson threw a bottle at the woman's head, which missed only because she dodged it.
He picked up a chair, yelling at her to get out of the house, before throwing it into the middle of the room.
As she walked out, the defendant followed her and picked up two bricks from the garden wall.
Matagi-Stevenson said he would use them to smash the woman's car.
When people walked past and saw what was going on, he dropped the bricks and locked himself in the house.
Defence counsel Meg Scally said her client took full responsibility for what happened and was ashamed his children had witnessed his meltdown.
Since the incident, her client had been taken time off work to care for their baby and they planned to attend counselling together in the future.
Matagi-Stevenson was sentenced to 12 months' supervision.