Court slaps 43-year-old husband with Gh₵1200 fine for beating wife

A man who fractured the arm of his wife through beatings at Teshie in Accra has been fined GH₵1200 by the Accra Circuit Court.

The convict, Peter Laryea, 43, will serve four months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

Laryea pleaded guilty to causing harm and was slapped with the fine on his own plea by the court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku.

Apart from the fine, the court also ordered Laryea to compensate his wife with GH₵1,000 and also pay GH₵844, which were the medical expenses incurred by the wife in treating the injuries she sustained from Laryea’s beatings.

“You must also continue to pay all the medical expenses of the complainant (wife) in relation to the injuries,’’ the presiding judge ordered.

Washing of clothes and beatings

Laryea and the wife, Rebecca Shamo, and their children reside at Teshie, but the couple were at loggerheads due to numerous marital issues.

According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire, Laryea secretly gave his daughter’s clothes to his girlfriend to wash, with the excuse that his wife was not good at washing.

Rebecca, apparently, found out that the daughter’s clothes were missing and questioned one of her children, who informed her that the clothes were with Laryea’s girlfriend.

On May 23, 2018, Rebecca called her husband’s girlfriend and warned her never to wash her daughter’s clothes again.

The girlfriend then called Laryea and informed him about the message she had received from his wife.

Laryea became furious and rushed home to confront his wife.

“He beat the wife mercilessly and pushed her. The wife landed on her left hand, making her to sustain severe fracture on the said arm,’’ Chief Inspector Atimbire said.

Rebecca lodged a complaint with the police, leading to Laryea’s arrest.

Plea for mitigation

Before the sentence, lawyer for Laryea, Nii Amasa, pleaded with the court not to give his client a custodial sentence.

According to him, a custodial sentence would have a negative impact on his client’s marriage, as well as the welfare of his children.

“Custodial sentence will jeopardize the future of the children," counsel said.

He submitted that his client had learnt his lessons and would never lift his finger on the wife again.

In his response, however, Chief Inspector Atimbire, said Laryea had not shown any remorse and had also refused to pay the medical expenses of the wife.

The prosecutor then presented all the medical bills Rebecca had paid following the ordeal she suffered at the hands of her husband.

Delivering the sentence, Mrs Adjin-Doku said she took into consideration the relationship between Laryea and the victim, and the plea for mitigation of Laryea’s lawyer.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh