A Pembroke man who assaulted his wife after they had been out celebrating a religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan has been given a community order.

Forty-three-year-old Hiru Ahmed, of East Back, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Wednesday December 18 for sentencing after he entered a guilty plea on November 27.

During the hearing on November 27, prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard- Jones told the court that the complainant and defendant had been married for nine years.

He explained that there had been a previous incident in 2017 involving Mr. Ahmed where he assaulted his wife.

The defendant then wrote a note saying he wouldn’t be violent towards his wife again.

Magistrates heard that on August 12, the family were celebrating Eid - also called the ‘Festival of Breaking the Fast’.

The complainant went back to her house and rang her family in Bangladesh, saying she wanted her family to help her move away from the defendant.

Mr. Ahmed heard the complainant speaking to her family on the phone.

It was here that the defendant came into the bedroom took the phone away and started punching her seven to eight times, the court was told.

Photos were shown to magistrates where the complainant had suffered bruising to her head and bleeding to the mouth.

Defence solicitor Jonathan Webb told the court that there had been no contact between his client and the complainant since the incident.

However, he disputed what Mr. Pritchard-Jones said about the strikes, saying three to four of them were with an open hand and there was one punch.

Mr. Webb said that his client wasn’t brought before the court for the previous alleged assault, nor was he charged.

He added that there had been no weapon involved and the assault was not pre-meditated.

When sentenced, magistrates handed the defendant a 12-month community order, to include 80 hours of unpaid work, along with a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Mr. Ahmed was also ordered to pay £250 in compensation to the defendant, along with £85 in prosecution costs, and a victim surcharge of £90.