Derbyshire dad attacked wife and left children 'screaming and crying'

He pinned her down and hit her on the head

A father assaulted his wife, leaving their young children “screaming and crying” at their Sawley home. Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard how Deshal Kalubowilage pinned the victim down in their lounge and hit her on the head after they argued about money.

In return, the mother bit the 37-year-old on the bicep before the police were called. The defendant, who has now moved to outer London, then told police he wanted to go back to Sri Lanka, where he is originally from. He has spent Christmas behind bars on remand waiting to find out his fate.

Fining him, the chair of the bench said: “We know this was a domestic assault which is never pleasant and we will always take domestic assaults seriously. We also know the children were present and that would be a particularly distressing thing for them and something they will no doubt remember for a long time. We are just thankful the injuries were not more serious and we also note your guilty plea.”

Lynn Bickley, prosecuting, said Kalubowilage and his wife married in 2010 and had children together. She said they moved to the UK from Sri Lanka in 2022 and there had been “issues in their relationship” which had not required any police intervention until the summer of this year.

The prosecutor said on June 30 she was in the kitchen of their home and the defendant walked in and an argument began over money. Miss Bickley said: “She accepts she swore at him saying she ‘did not want to talk to a person who does bad things’. He came at her and she tried to push him away but he pushed her into the lounge and pinned her down on the sofa..

“She tried to kick him to get him off and his arm moved close to her face so she bit him on the bicep. But due to his strength he was still on top of her and he hit her to the head, causing her pain. The children started screaming and they were crying and her friend came into the kitchen and that was the end of it. The defendant stopped attacking her and the police were called.”

Kalubowilage, now of Madison Heights, High Street, Hounslow, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to assault by beating. He has no previous convictions.

Miss Bickley said: “He was picked up on police bail on December 20 and made a comment about struggling financially and needing to leave the country to go back to Sri Lanka. The police were concerned he was a flight risk (meaning he might escape the country) so remanded him until this court appearance.”

Nadine Wilford, mitigating, said her client’s wife had not made an application for a restraining order and that the defendant had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. She said: “He simply said to the police officer ‘can I go to Sri Lanka’ as his father is ill with a heart condition and needs an operation. He came off worse in the assault because he suffered a nasty bite but he knows he should not have assaulted her.”

Magistrates fined him £140 and ordered him to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £56 victim surcharge.