Derek Cui met his Italian-born girlfriend at Byron Bay and the pair lived in Cairns and Longreach before he assaulted her

A British citizen with Chinese parents called his Italian girlfriend a “half wog” during a protracted assault which included choking her and slamming her against furniture.

A man being abusive - generic image.

A bullied British citizen with Chinese parents called his Italian girlfriend a “half wog” during a protracted assault which included choking her, slamming her against furniture and telling her that her parents were not proud of her.

Derek Cui, 26, pleaded guilty on October 10 in Rockhampton District Court to one count each of choking, common assault and wilful damage.

Crown prosecutor Alana Murray told the court Cui, a United Kingdom-born Chinese man who was in Australia on a work visa, met the victim at Byron Bay in February 2020.

Ms Murray said the relationship between the pair had been described as co-dependant and volatile.

“They broke up and reunited a number of times,” Ms Murray said.

“They also moved houses a few times in and around the Cairns area.”

Ms Murray said the victim, an Italian also in Australia on a work visa, moved to the Longreach area with Cui in October 2020 for work.

She said weeks before the offending, Cui proposed and asked the victim to “enter a civil partnership with him so that he could apply for a partner visa instead.”

“She felt forced to agree,” Ms Murray said.

Ms Murray said the couple booked a holiday to Fraser Island and Noosa for Christmas and New Year, with plans to leave Longreach on December 21, 2020.

She said the victim ended the relationship on December 19 but Cui “insisted their relationship was fine”.

“She asked him to sleep on the couch,” Ms Murray said.

“He refused.

“She locked him out of their bedroom.

“He convinced her to open the door under the pretext of collecting his belongings.

“He laughed and walked in with a screwdriver.

“He unscrewed the latch from the door and declared that he will sleep in the room and went outside to smoke.”

Ms Murray said the victim placed Cui’s pillow and phone charger outside the bedroom door and secured the door shut with a shoelace tied to the hook of the latch.

Ms Murray said when Cui discovered he was locked out, he demanded she let him in or he would smash her car.

Eventually, the victim let Cui into the room where he lectured her before going to sleep.

The next day, while the victim was packing, Cui demanded she hand back the jewellery he gave her “so he could give it to someone who deserved it”, Ms Murray told the court.

Ms Murray said the victim then ripped a necklace off her neck and threw it at Cui, “saying she didn’t care if he gave it to somebody else”.

Ms Murray said the victim went to give him other items, dropped them on the floor and refused to pick them up.

Cui then assaulted the victim, pushed her left shoulder with both of his hands and then pushed her into a corner between the dresser and bed.

His assault continued and involved slamming her against furniture, restraining her wrists, throwing items around the room, choking her until her face went red, and blocking her exit when she tried to leave the room.

The victim slapped him in the face after the first push.

Ms Murray said Cui told the victim their housemates hated her, that her parents were not proud of her and “he couldn’t wait to get rid of her”.

She said while Cui was ripping pages out of a book, the victim used her laptop to message her housemates for help.

Ms Murray said a female housemate came to the room and told Cui to leave the victim alone.

She said Cui shut the housemate out and told her to stay out.

He went on to squeeze the victim’s neck again and threatened to destroy her belongings.

The victim managed to get Cui off her and messaged for help again.

Cui tried to take the laptop off her but she resisted until the homeowner entered the room and stood between the couple, telling Cui to leave.

“The defendant immediately tried to justify his actions and said that she had slapped him,” Ms Murray said.

Ms Murray said the victim left the room crying.

Ms Murray said the victim, as a result of the assault, had pain at the back of her head, headaches, bruises and a cut on her right middle finger.

She said the victim cancelled her part of the holiday but Cui still went to the airport the next day to go on his trip.

Ms Murray said the victim then went to the hospital as she continued to suffer pain from a headache and tenderness in her shoulders, neck and head.

She said the victim made a complaint to police and police arrested Cui at Longreach Airport.

“He immediately blamed the victim for hitting him first,” Ms Murray said.

“He described that the victim had a ‘fiery personality’ due to her ethnicity being half wog and that she slapped him first.

“He claimed he pushed her because she threw something at him and he held her to prevent being further assaulted.

“The defendant described himself as fun loving, calm and a caring person and that the victim was emotionally impulsive, particularly when ‘she was coming into season’, which was him referring to her approaching her menstrual cycle.”

She said Cui told police the victim knew the threat to damage her car was a joke because he was smiling when he said it.

Ms Murray said these matters had been mentioned 10 times in the district court and had been listed for trial at one stage where a video link to Italy would have had to be arranged as the victim had relocated back to her home country for a short period.

Defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said his client’s parents had migrated from China to the United Kingdom before Cui and his brother were born.

He said Cui was subjected to racial bullying growing up at school.

Mr Ahlstrand said his client went to a carpentry college when he was aged 16-18 and then completed a three-year apprenticeship.

He said Cui underwent two years of a three-year course at Portsmouth Business School at the University of Portsmouth in England before dropping out to travel.

Mr Ahlstrand said his client was in a new relationship with an optometrist from New Zealand, who was fully aware of the offences.

He said his client was at risk of being deported following the sentence for this offending with the department to apply a character test.

Judge Jeff Clarke sentenced Cui to two years’ prison, suspended after he serves six months with a three-year operational period.