Man choked, teeth knocked out by son in assault
A MACLEAN man appeared in Grafton Local Court this week to be sentenced
Mackay
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A MACLEAN man who twice assaulted his father, choking him and knocking out a number of teeth, has been sentenced in Grafton Local Court.
Nathan Whan, 33, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of intentionally choking with recklessness and assault occasioning actual bodily harm from April 10 and 11 this year.
In a hearing at Maclean Local Court on June 11 this year, evidence was heard from police that on April 10 Whan and the victim had a verbal argument when Whan lashed out and choked the victim for five seconds, causing him to begin to lose conciousness.
A witness testified that the next day about 6.30pm he was with the victim when Whan entered the kitchen and again started to argue with the victim, and said Whan had blamed the victim for being homeless before hitting the victim with a closed fist.
Magistrate Karen Stafford found Whan guilty of the two offences, and he appeared in Grafton Local Court on Monday for sentencing.
Whan's solicitor Geraldine Gallagher filed an application for the offences to be dealt with under the Mental Health Act, and there was a causal link between his mental health and offending. She also submitted that the need for her client's rehabilitation outweighed the deterrence value of a custodial sentence.
Ms Stafford denied the Section 32 application, and said while Whan was suffering from mental illness, he was not a mentally ill person as defined by the act, and it was more appropriate to deal with the offences under the criminal justice system.
The magistrate said Whan was subject to two suspended sentences at the time of the offence, and part of the conditions of the suspended sentences was that Whan follow treatment for his mental illness, which he did not do.
Whan was sentenced to 20 months prison, with a non-parole period of 10 months.
He will be eligible for release in February.
Originally published as Man choked, teeth knocked out by son in assault
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