A La Penitence resident, who allegedly slapped his reputed wife in the presence of their four-year-old child, appeared yesterday before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Accused was 32-year-old Imtiaz Mohammed of Lot 101 Middle Road, La Penitence, who pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on July 20 at Georgetown, he unlawfully assaulted Odessa Ross, causing her actual bodily harm.
Ross, 28, of the same address, was also charged with assaulting Mohammed.
The attorney who represented Mohammed made an application for bail for his client, stating that the issue between him and his wife was “just a misunderstanding.”
The prosecution had no objection to bail, but asked that the defendant and the virtual complainant [VC] have nothing to do with each other pending the outcome of the matter.
An emotional Ross asked the court to “please warn him [the defendant] ‘cause he slapped me in front of my four-year-old daughter and that is a scar she will live with for the rest of her life.”
The magistrate, after hearing the case, said she “finds it strange that these matters are so heavily publicized but yet people continue as if it’s business as usual.”
“This ought not to happen,” she said, “if you are having issues, you ought to seek professional help, to deal with anger and so on.”
The magistrate advised that it is better to make use of the professional help available than to take matters into one’s own hands.
She expressed concern about the two parties residing in the same environment and the fact that the incident unfortunately occurred in the presence of their minor child.
Mohammed was admonished for “setting a bad example for his child.”
Mohammed and his wife were granted bail in the sums of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively and they are scheduled to return to Court Ten on September 12.
In the interim the court ordered that both parties seek professional help.
