A man convicted of assaulting his wife of seven years by "raining punches on her face" was sentenced to community work in Whanganui District Court last week.
Christopher Robert Strongman, a 49-year-old labourer, and his wife had been living apart for the past five months when she asked him to come around to where she was staying with her sister on January 10.
Strongman handed over his keys and asked the victim to drive him back to his address, but when they reached his house she had concerns for her safety and drove them back to her sister's home. Strongman grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving the car and punched her five times in the face, police prosecutor Sergeant Rachel Willemsen said. "The victim stated the punches were about a six on a scale of one to 10," Ms Willemsen said.
The victim's sister told Strongman to release her, and the victim got out of the car and hid in some bushes.
When Strongman left, the victim hid in a wardrobe inside, afraid he would return. He did return and, thinking he had gone, the victim stuck her head out the wardrobe, only to find Strongman standing above her.
"He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and his remorse is demonstrated by his full and frank admission that he struck his wife," said duty solicitor Roger Crowley.
"In all other aspects, he's a reliable and respectable person."
Strongman said he struck the victim only twice. He had two previous convictions for the same offence against the same victim, in 2012 and 1989.
Judge Cameron said Strongman's victim was scared of him.
"It's just not acceptable for you to be able to intimidate someone in this way.
"I'm warning you that if you further offend against her, I'm going to send you to jail."
He sentenced Strongman to 150 hours of community work and six months' supervision.