A judge has put the spotlight on the prevalence of strangulation charges and how young men deal with the stress of their relationships.
Judge Campbell Savage sat in the Oamaru District Court this week, sentencing Muhammad Zahran Hidayat (18) on two charges of assault in a family relationship and one charge of impeding breathing.
"It is not unknown to the court that these charges are reasonably prevalent with mainly men and how they deal with the stress of their relationships", he said.
On July 30, last year, Hidayat and his ex-partner were at home when an argument broke out.
The victim escaped to the bedroom, where she was pushed on to the bed and restrained by her wrists — with the man holding her arm over her neck.
Grabbing the victim by the hair, Hidayat dragged her off the bed, using his other hand to punch her in the head.
He took the woman’s phone and prevented her from leaving the house before stomping on her ankle.
The victim suffered a head injury and significant hematomas as a result of the attack.
The final, most serious assault which happened just days later, ended with the woman being tackled and restrained on the floor.
As she screamed for help the man placed his hands over her nose and mouth, preventing her from breathing.
She lost consciousness and vomited.
"Did you just try to kill me?" she asked.
"No, I was just trying to get you to shut up," Hidayat said.
Judge Savage told the man he was looking at imprisonment, saying "that’s the sort of peril you put yourself in when you behave like this".
"We need to get the message out there that anything that interferes with anyone’s breathing will be treated very seriously by the court."
The judge told the young man his brain was not yet fully developed and his demographic "have been shown not to think things through".
Instances of strangulation often preceded more serious charges, the court heard.
Judge Savage sentenced Hidayat to six months’ home detention and granted a protection order in favour of the victim.
