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A man who had the nerve to attack and hack off his wife’s toes and fingers, is being made to pay for his crime as the woman opts to forgive.
A wife has told a court why she has chosen to forgive her husband for hacking off two of her fingers and two of her toes in a horrific machete attack
Tiperia Afamiliona wrote in a Victim Impact Statement sent to a court in Sydney, Australia, in which she wrote, “for myself I have forgiven him so I can move forward…this does not mean it is okay.”
The 45-year-old was still bearing significant scars to her hands, arms and legs, as she attended the sentencing of Atinae Afamiliona.
Her 50-year-old husband was caged for nine years with with the opportunity of parole in six by Acting Judge Gregory Grogin.
The serial domestic violence offender attacked his wife with a machete on the corner of Raby and Campbelltown roads in Western Sydney on August 29 last year.
The couple were driving home when they began to row about their relationship and Tiperia said they should separate.
Her raging husband pulled the car over, pulled a machete from under the car seat and began attacking his wife.
He struck her at least 10 times, hacking at her arms and hands, which she raised to protect herself. When Tiperia managed crawled under their car to try to escape him he continued hacking at her exposed legs.
Acting Judge Grogin branded the violence a, “brutal, unprovoked, unabated, unrelenting, vicious attack on the victim who at the time was trying to protect herself and trying to escape the perpetrator by crawling under the car.”
At a previous sentencing hearing, Mrs Afamiliona wrote a letter supporting her husband and asking for leniency on behalf of herself and their three children.
She wrote: “I have also come to terms and accepted that I too played my part in the unfolding of this unfortunate nightmare.
“My husband is a good man. He is a loyal man. He is a loving father and husband who has always provided for his family.”
Ms Afamiliona’s support for her husband, however, was more reserved in her Victim Impact Statement which was tendered on Thursday.
“Before this happened I was a very independent woman … Whenever I go out I hide my hands so no one can see. I see my scars every day and that makes me feel angry …”
She said the attack had divided her family and she now feels alone and sad.
Acting Judge Grogin said Afamiliona’s history of domestic violence showed his “willingness to flout the law”.
Afamiliona had three previous domestic violence offences on his record.
These offences were slapping a five-year-old girl across the face and dragging her by her ponytail, throwing a beer bottle at his wife and threatening her with a knife and breaching a Apprehended Violence Order by going to his wife’s home against court orders.
In regards to Mrs Afamiliona’s decision to forgive her husband, Acting Judge Grogin quoted the Court of Criminal Appeal Judgement of R v Glen which argued against giving leniency to a domestic violence offender if the victim forgives them.
“The court must send a signal to domestic violence offenders that, regardless of self-interest denying forgiveness on the part of their victims, those victims will nevertheless receive the full protection of the law.”
Acting Judge Grogin said domestic violence was inexcusable.
“Family members of all ages should feel safe and free from harm in their own home.”
Afamiliona will be eligible for parole on August 29, 2022.
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–The Sun UK
