Assault in East Styria: 35-Year-Old Convicted and Fined €4,800
A 35-year-old man from East Styria was convicted of assault against his partner at Weiz District Court. He was handed a fine of €4,800.
Weiz District Court Convicts Man of Assault on Partner
Weiz District Court has convicted a 35-year-old man from East Styria of assault and sentenced him to a fine of €4,800. According to Kleine Zeitung, the man allegedly pushed his 38-year-old partner and subsequently dragged her across the flat by her legs. The verdict is not yet final; however, the defendant declared that he would accept the sentence.
The 35-year-old pleaded partially guilty in court. He claimed that his partner had stumbled from the balcony into the flat — he had not pushed her. Both had been drinking beforehand, and an argument had broken out. "I was also drunk, I wanted to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom," he told the judge. Since this had not succeeded, he had dragged her by the feet into the bedroom.
The defendant's partner also testified as a witness, saying she had stumbled. She admitted to slapping the defendant. However, the statements of the two differed on a crucial point: he stated that the blow had occurred on the balcony before the fall, while she described it as a reaction afterwards in the flat. She attributed the injuries to her arms to a fall from an e-scooter.
A neighbour provided the decisive evidence for the police. She said she had directly observed the argument and the violence from the witness stand. "The neighbours had neither shutters nor curtains; the light in the flat was on. I looked carefully, the balcony door was completely open." The witness described how the defendant pushed his partner with both hands and subsequently dragged her across the flat. A neighbour from the floor below then rang at the door. The witness also stated that she had heard the defendant asking his partner to open the door and say that nothing had happened.
The defendant strongly contested this account. "I have never harmed a person," he declared and requested acquittal.
The judge followed the neighbour's account. The sentence amounts to 120 daily rates of €40 each, totalling €4,800. For now, the convicted man must pay half; the remaining amount becomes due if he commits another offence within the three-year probation period.
Source: Kleine Zeitung