By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A DANDENONG man throttled his wife and regularly threatened to kill her and their four children by setting them alight with petrol or by strangling them with an electrical cord, a court has heard.
The Afghan-born 42-year-old former refugee unsuccessfully applied for bail at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 19 October, signalling his intention to fight the serious family violence charges.
Police informant Senior Constable Leigh Wilkinson of Dandenong police told the court that the accused became enraged after his wife of 20 years refused his sexual advances about 11pm on 10 September.
He allegedly grabbed the victim’s throat with both hands and told her he would kill her.
“The victim indicates she was having to struggle to break the accused’s grip around her neck,” Sen Const Wilkinson said.
“She seriously feared for her life.”
After releasing his grip, the man returned with an electrical cord.
He said he would “murder” her, the children and then himself, Sen Const Wilkinson said.
According to a medical report, the woman suffered a possible dislocated shoulder as well as bruising and swelling to the inside of her neck.
The victim told police that the accused had threatened to kill her and had sexually and physically assaulted her many times prior to the incident.
The alleged threats variously involved using an electrical cord or to douse the family members with petrol and incinerate them. None had been reported to police before.
The husband had also threatened to kill the victim’s family in Pakistan, the informant told the court.
Sen Const Wilkinson said police had “grave concerns” that if released on bail, the husband would retaliate against the victim for reporting the matter.
However the victim, who had moved out of the family home with three of their children, supported the accused’s bail application.
“She’s paying for both residences which is quite a financial drain for her,” Sen Const Wilkinson said.
The husband allegedly told police he tried to restrain the wife without using much force and denied making threats to kill her and the children.
His defence lawyer argued that a CREDIT bail order would assist the man with anger management and mental health treatment.
The accused had been in custody for the past 37 days, he said.
“As a man with no prior criminal history, it cannot be said he won’t take his (bail and intervention order) obligations to the court seriously.”
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said he rejected the “very difficult” bail application because of the seriousness of the alleged violence and threats.
“You’d remain an unacceptable risk of committing an offence endangering your wife and your children, and interfering with them or the course of justice.”
The accused was placed on a two-year full intervention order banning him from seeing and contacting the wife and children.
Child access could be made with the agreement of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The man was remanded to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 6 November.
