Sian Rattray bashes boyfriend at Silverdome during driving lesson

“Predilection for lashing out”: A Tasmanian woman being taught to drive by her boyfriend flew the coop, attempting to stab him with the keys and punching him three to four times in the face.

Rocherlea woman Sian Louise Rattray, 32. Picture: Facebook

A Tasmanian woman tried to stab her boyfriend with a set of car keys and punched him three to four times in the face after she became “frustrated” during the course of his attempt to teach her how to drive.

Rocherlea woman Sian Louise Rattray, 32, pleaded guilty in Launceston Magistrates Court on Wednesday to a charge of common assault.

The court heard the offence occurred in the parking lot of Prospect’s Silverdome stadium on December 2 last year.

Rattray’s victim was her on-off boyfriend, who was teaching her to drive at about 2pm.

Rattray became “frustrated” because she “wasn’t doing well”, in the words of her defence lawyer Ben Ashman, and the pair began arguing.

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The court heard Rattray then attempted to stab her boyfriend in the leg with the car keys.

The man took the keys off Rattray. When, outside the vehicle, he refused to give them back as he feared she would drive off without him, she punched him three to four times in the face and left.

She was subsequently arrested nearby at the Olde Tudor Hotel and charged.

Mr Ashman said his client had apologised to the man and exhibited her remorse by making full admissions to police and pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

“Frustration is not uncommon when learning to drive,” he said.

Mr Ashman told the court Rattray had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and previously was a long-term carer for her father following a serious car crash. He passed away three years ago, which took its toll on Rattray, he said.

Rattray, who is in receipt of benefits, will complete a Cert III in Horticulture later this year and has previously worked as a cleaner and fruit picker.

Magistrate Simon Brown noted Rattray had a “predilection for lashing out,” as evidenced by her history of family violence, which was “something of a concern”.

Rattray was fined $900 and ordered to pay court costs of $91.40.