A tourist couple’s argument in Queenstown ended with a man biting his partner and pushing her down the stairs, a court has heard.
Chak Kwan Cheng, 25, and his girlfriend of 18 months were visiting the resort town from Hong Kong last week when their quarrel escalated into violence.
The police summary before the Invercargill District Court this week said following a disagreement, Cheng’s girlfriend left their Sunshine Bay chalet in the morning and did not return until the afternoon.
This led to more arguing and she locked herself in the second room.
Cheng pinned her down on the bed by her wrists, the court heard.
The couple then slid off the bed and he put his weight on her wrists, causing bruising.
The victim grabbed his collar and he bit her hand, leaving red marks.
The defendant then got up and started throwing his partner’s clothes down the stairs and when she tried to stop him, he grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to force her down as well.
Once they had struggled halfway down the stairwell, the defendant pushed his girlfriend’s hands away from the railing, causing her to fall down the remaining flight.
Judge Mark Williams acknowledged the victim had not wanted to press charges but police decided to anyway — ‘‘quite rightly’’.
There was bruising on the victim’s forearms and elbow, swelling on her wrist, a bite mark on her left hand and carpet burns as well as cuts on her legs, the court heard.
Cheng’s counsel Tanya Surrey said the pair were supposed to leave together on a flight on Sunday morning but the defendant stayed to face the charge of assault in a family relationship.
She said Cheng had no previous convictions, this behaviour was completely out of character and he was in a position to pay a $1000 fine or donation.
The lawyer and judge agreed there was not enough time to canvass the option of a discharge without conviction considering the defendant wished to leave the country as soon as possible.
Ms Surrey said her client accepted the offending but said he had not meant to push his partner down the stairs but rather she had tripped and fallen.
‘‘I need to hold you accountable for the offending and this conviction will do so,’’ the judge said.
Cheng was convicted and discharged.
- By Ella Scott-Fleming
- PIJF court reporter
