By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
A WOMAN accused of a long history of family violence, offending her legal-aid lawyer and urinating in police cells was refused bail at Dandenong Magistrates Court on Monday.
Martha Duong, 33, was facing 12 charges including five breaches of family violence orders protecting her 31-year-old husband as well as unlawful assault and recklessly causing serious injury against him.
Since the couple’s relationship began in 2009, police have listed 17 reported family violence assaults and disputes between the couple – 15 of which had the husband as the victim.
Duong, who represented herself in court, said her husband was a good man when she first met him but had since abused her financially, emotionally and physically.
“He charmed me. He used me for money, sold my belongings,” she told the court. “He has done nothing but abuse the s*** out of me.”
Duong said since spending 14 hours previously “in the cells” she had “not touched” her husband. “I slapped him to get him off me. I had bruises all over my body.
“I just want to go home to my kids.”
Senior Constable Sasha Shaw, of Greater Dandenong police’s family violence unit, said Duong was arrested for ignoring an interim intervention order and visiting her husband’s Dandenong North unit on February 1.
“She came to his place saying she was hungry and didn’t have any place to go,” Sen Const Shaw said. “He felt sorry for her (and let her in).
“When she assaults him, he feels frightened of her. It’s not day-to-day.”
Upon her arrest, Duong allegedly told police both parties were still in love with each other.
She admitted to having two grams of cannabis in her handbag “to help her get to sleep”, SC Shaw said.
Two protective services officers were called in as extra security to watch Duong, who had been charged for urinating in the Dandenong police cells that morning.
Sen Const Shaw told the court that Duong had been “rather unpleasant” to her Victorian Legal Aid lawyer, who then refused to work with the prospective client.
The court was told Duong and her husband married in September 2012 and separated mid-2013. The split couple’s 11-month-old son is being cared for by Duong’s mother under a Department of Human Services order.
In 2012 she had allegedly scratched her husband’s face declaring: “I’ll f***ing kill you for doing this to me” as she was escorted to the police divvy van.
On another occasion, he was hospitalised, unable to stand with tendon damage, after she kicked him to the back of the knee.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell deemed Duong was an unacceptable risk of re-offending while on bail. She was remanded in custody until a scheduled hearing at Dandenong Magistrates Court on 24 February.
