A WHITBY man who twice assaulted his wife by throwing items at her, once while she was recovering from surgery, has been conditionally discharged for two years.
Christopher John Gibbon (43) of Rambler Cottage, Stainsacre, pleaded not guilty before York Crown Court earlier this year to five charges of assaulting Sangiam Gibbon, occasioning her actual bodily harm over a two year period.
The one-time boxer w
as cleared of three charges, but guilty of the remaining two assaults, one involving him throwing a cigarette lighter at his wife’s forehead and another of throwing a mobile phone at her nose.
He appeared back before the court on Thursday for sentencing, to be told by The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, that he accepted that Gibbon had acted out of frustration at his wife’s behaviour.
The trial heard both incidents, which resulted in Mrs Gibbon, chef and co-owner with her husband of Sangiam’s Thai Restaurant, being left scared, had happened when she had returned home late and very drunk.
The jury was told by Mrs Gibbon the offence involving the lighter occurred in November/ December 2008 when she had been at home recovering from ovarian surgery.
She and her husband had been arguing when he threw the lighter at her, catching her above her left eye.
Mrs Gibbon also told the court that on 18 January last year, she had been in the bedroom of the marital home when her husband had been shouting and screaming at her because she had returned home late and drunk after a night out with a friend.
She said that during the argument Gibbon had thrown his mobile telephone at her, hitting her on the nose.
The court was told the couple met when Gibbon was on holiday in Thailand in 2001 and had married the following year.
However, the court heard that the couple are now separated and Mrs Gibbon has filed for divorce.
Gibbon, who runs an engineering business with his brother, alleged that he had never attacked his wife, claiming that she was a “Jekyll and Hyde” character when in drink.
Alleging that his wife had attacked him in the past, threatened to sexually mutilate him in his sleep and had kicked him in the groin, despite knowing he had testicular cancer, Gibbon added the cigarette lighter had struck her by accident when he had thrown it to her and she had failed to catch it.
Gibbon admitted he had thrown his phone in frustration, but that it had been aimed at the bedroom wall and not his wife, she being injured when it ricocheted into her face.
On Thursday Gibbon was also fined £250 for an offence of possessing an offensive weapon – a stun gun – having previously admitted the charge before his trial.
Matthew Bean, prosecuting, said police found the gun in a bedroom drawer, with Gibbon telling them that he had it to scare off any intruders.
Although the weapon was in a broken state it could easily be repaired, but Judge Ashurst said that it had never been used by Gibbon.
