Interstate man jailed for cruise ship assault following his arrest in Burnie in December

An interstate man has been sentenced for punching and choking his then partner while on a cruise ship on its way to Tasmania.

Yarda Brian Broucek was arrested when the cruise ship he was on docked in Burnie.

AN interstate man who squeezed his then partner’s throat in what a judge described as a “violent, threatening and domineering” assault on a cruise ship has been jailed in Tasmania.

Yarda Brian Broucek, 26, previously pleaded guilty to assaulting his partner onboard a cruise ship on December 15.

Justice Gregory Geason sentenced Broucek in the Supreme Court in Hobart on Friday, just days before Coroner Olivia McTaggart called for a separate crime of strangulation be enacted in Tasmania.

Justice Geason said Broucek and his partner joined a cruise in Sydney with his partner’s brother and his partner.

The court heard the woman suspected Broucek of cheating on her with another female passenger and confronted him about it, which angered him.

“You then pushed her onto the bed and you jumped on top of her,” Justice Geason said.

“You grabbed her by the throat with one hand and you punched her to the face with a closed fist with the other.”

He said Broucek punched the woman a further five times and pinned her down so she was unable to fight back.

“You then grabbed her around the throat using both hands and you squeezed her throat. While you held her she managed to say, ‘go on, kill me then’.

“She stopped resisting and she went limp. You immediately desisted. You started crying.”

Justice Geason said the woman eventually woke up, then left the cabin and screamed for help.

He said medical staff assisted her.

“She was observed to have the upper part of her dress ripped off and her face was swollen. Blood was located in the cabin, on the pillows and in the bed sheets,” Justice Geason said.

He said Broucek was arrested when the ship docked in Burnie.

He said he accepted the behaviour was out of character, impulsive and alcohol “contributed to the gross error of judgment that you exhibited”. He also said Broucek had attended counselling sessions directed at helping him managing his anger.

But Justice Geason said domestic violence was “a matter of grave community concern”.

“Your behaviour was violent, threatening and domineering and it is clear from the comment made by your victim that she felt vulnerable to the point where she feared for her life whilst you were throttling and striking her,” he said.

Justice Geason sentenced Broucek to 10 months’ jail, with eight months suspended for three years.