Hervey Bay man sentenced after fracturing partner’s wrist in DV attack

The Hervey Bay man punched two “fist-sized” holes through doors before slamming the woman’s hand into the ground more than 10 times during the ‘serious’ attack.

Keet restrained the complainant on the ground after he demanded to know who was texting her.

A Hervey Bay man slammed a woman’s arm into the ground more than 10 times before ‘locking’ her in a bedroom during a terrifying DV attack that left her with a broken wrist.

Jai Andrew Lewis Keet, 34, arrived at a house in Burnett Heads on October 21, 2021, where he demanded for a woman to tell him who was messaging her.

Prosecutor Michael Gawrych told Hervey Bay District Court on Thursday that Keet soon became physical with the complainant, reaching for her phone before forcefully pushing her to the ground and restraining her there.

He repeatedly called her a “f****** s***” while she was pinned, Mr Gawrych said.

Keet then grabbed the complainant’s arm that was holding her phone and repeatedly swung it into the concrete floor ten times, inevitably fracturing her wrist.

She was then picked up and pushed towards the bedroom, where Keet punched a “fist-sized” hole in two of the doors, before closing the bedroom door and holding the doorknob so she could not get out.

He continued abusing her in the bedroom when she asked to be transported to hospital as a result of her wrist injury, but Keet declined and broke a curtain rod as he left.

The victim was later evicted from the home due to the damage caused by Keet.

In a seperate incident, he parked out the front of her house, yelled at the home to create attention, then made a “gun gesture” with his hands when she saw him.

The complainant and her children were evicted from the home due to damages caused by Keet.

Keet was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty, committing wilful damage, and threatening violence, but wasn’t apprehended until February 29 this year after an arrest warrant due to several failures to appear before court.

He has spent the past 259 days incarcerated awaiting a sentence in the District Court after pleading guilty to the charges.

Defence Barrister Phil Hardcastle said Keet drove the complainant to Bundaberg Hospital the day after the attack.

He told the court Keet understood his actions were “absolutely disgusting, demoralising, and uncalled for”.

He also said Keet was in contact with an organisation that was setting up employment for him pending his parole being accepted.

Judge Gary Long described the events as “serious”, but took into account that offences similar to this are normally given parole after the accused has served a third of their imprisonment term.

He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment with an immediate parole date of 14 November, 2024.

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