‘She thought she was going to die’: Hobart man faces justice under new non-fatal strangulation laws

A Hobart man has avoided prison time after being one of the first people sentenced under the new Tasmanian crime of non-fatal strangulation – which carries a maximum jail term of 21 years.

A Hobart man is one of the first people to be sentenced for non-fatal strangulation since the crime was officially introduced into Tasmania during 2022.

A Hobart man has avoided prison time after being sentenced under the new Tasmanian crime of non-fatal strangulation – which carries a maximum jail term of 21 years.

Sunny Sunny, 39, is one of the first people to be sentenced for non-fatal strangulation since the crime was officially introduced into Tasmania during late 2022.

In her published comments on passing sentence, Supreme Court judge Helen Wood said Sunny had been married to his wife for eight years when he attacked her in December 2022.

Justice Wood said the couple had been out for a meal and a walk around the Bellerive foreshore, after which Sunny stayed up drinking.

When he became argumentative and raised his hand as if to hit her, the woman said she would call police – with Sunny replying that he’d given her “a reason to call police”.

Sunny then stood over his wife, who was lying on the bed, and put both hands around her throat, “gripping so tightly she could not breathe”.

The woman was able to briefly struggle away from Sunny before he grabbed her ankles, pulled her towards him, and started choking her again with both of his hands.

“While his hands were around her throat, he pulled her to the ground, and she hit her head,” Justice Wood said.

“The complainant thought she was going to die.”

Former Tasmanian Attorney-General Elise Archer speaking about the new non-fatal strangulation laws.

The woman managed to get to a phone to call police, who arrived and arrested Sunny – holding him in remand and interviewing him once he was sober.

Justice Wood noted the couple wished to reunite and that Sunny had taken steps to address his issues.

However she also said the application of force to a person’s throat was inherently dangerous”.

“What people often do not realise is that a short period of strangulation by applying force to the throat and interfering with a person’s breathing may result in death or loss of consciousness and cause long-term consequences,” she said.

“Fortunately, it seems there have been no adverse physical effects in this case, but the trauma the complainant suffered was, in itself, serious harm.”

Sunny, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was convicted and given a nine-month suspended prison sentence.

He will be subject to supervised probation for a period of 12 months and must complete 77 hours of community service.

Previously in Tasmania, if someone choked, strangled or suffocated another person without killing them, they could be charged with other crimes like assault or even attempted murder.

However, the new charge identifies non-fatal strangulation as a crime in itself – with calls for the creation of the offence following the 2014 killing of Jodi Eaton and Bridgewater at the hands of a repeat offender.

Devonport man Jayden James Webb was also given a suspended jail term for non-fatal strangulation in October 2023.

A man was also given a 10-year jail sentence last month for the horrific abuse of his partner during a 48-hour ordeal last year, including four counts of assault, five counts of rape, a count of strangulation, and a count of attempted strangulation.

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Originally published as ‘She thought she was going to die’: Hobart man faces justice under new non-fatal strangulation laws