Man arrested for repeatedly beating cohabiting partner

A local man has been apprehended on allegations of domestic violence against a cohabiting female partner, the Judiciary Police (PJ) disclosed on the afternoon of Valentine’s Day.

The suspect, surnamed Lou, is 31 years old and reportedly works as a croupier.

The case was referred by the Public Security Police Force (PSP), the PJ added.

The case was reported to the police Monday morning. The female victim, who is in her 20s, has lived with the suspect for eight years. They have two young children – a son and a daughter – and live with a domestic helper.

According to the victim, she went home after going out with her friends Sunday evening. Shortly after midnight, the suspect returned home and demanded to inspect the victim’s phone, discovering that she had spent time with friends earlier. The victim was reportedly verbally assaulted during the process.

At 7 a.m. that same day, when the victim wanted to go out, the suspect allegedly grabbed her hair from behind, pulled her from the bedroom to the living room and repeatedly hit her head against hard objects.

She was then reportedly expelled from the apartment wearing only underwear. Several minutes later, she was let back in by her daughter, who had witnessed the entire incident.

The PJ stated that the report was made to the police by the domestic helper. The victim had previously instructed the helper to call the police if such violent conduct occurred again.

It came to the knowledge of the police that the first fight occurred in January 2022. Since then, four fights, including the latest one, have reportedly taken place.

Due to the relatively low severity of the resultant injuries and it being a first-time occurrence, no criminal proceedings were brought against the suspect for the first incident, but the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) was notified. Subsequent violence was not reported to the police due to “family concerns,” but evidence has been kept in the form of photographs.

The suspect only admitted to grabbing the back of the victim’s neck and pulling her out of the apartment. He declined to cooperate with other parts of the investigation.

Pursuant to Article 4 – Clause 2 of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Control Law, people co-habiting in a form comparative to a spousal relationship, as well as people co-habiting to care for and protect minors are considered to be de-facto or in an equivalent relationship of kin.