Man is jailed for assaults

Two women suffer serious injury

A PORMPURAAW man who violently assaulted two women causing them serious injury, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The Cairns District Court yesterday heard that Peret Jacky Arkwookerum, 25, committed his most serious of five offences in January this year.

The court heard that he got into an argument with a woman known to him while he had been drinking, arming himself with a metal clutch and hitting her several times on the head and back.

Crown prosecutor Eddie Coker told the court the woman tried to protect herself, but hits to her forearm resulted in a broken arm and exposure of the bone.

“Without treatment it would have been a seriously disfiguring injury and resulted in permanent injury … and reduced function,” Mr Coker said.

Arkwookerum yesterday pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm in a public place while affected by an intoxicating substance as well as assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, assault occasioning bodily harm – domestic violence offence, contravention of domestic violence order and breach of bail condition.

The court heard Arkwookerum also assaulted another woman known to him in June last year and again in August after they got into an argument. In the first attack he swung a metal handle broomstick at the woman’s head and she suffered a broken arm when trying to shield herself. In the second assault two months later the woman’s arm rebroke after Arkwookerum threw her to the ground.

Mr Arkwookerum’s defence barrister said, while he was still a relatively young man with a limited history, “these were awful acts of violence and need to be punished significantly”.

Judge Dean Morzone QC sentenced Arkwookerum to four years in jail for the grievous bodily harm offence, two years for assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, 18 months for assault occasioning bodily harm and three months for breaching the domestic violence protection order, and convicted but not further punished for breaching bail. They will be served concurrently.

Parole eligibility date was set for April 9, 2019.