Viral video puts ‘woman abuser’ in court

VIDEO footage of a Phoenix man repeatedly punching his pregnant girlfriend in the face led to his swift arrest over the weekend. The 26-year-old man appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of assault and contravening a protection order. He was released on R500 bail and is expected to appear in court again in January. The incident took place last Wednesday on Flanders Drive in Mount Edgecombe, outside the pregnant woman’s place of employment. Video footage of the 27-year-old confronting the man, who was with a woman alleged to be his lover, went viral. She tells him she is pregnant with his baby and demands he tell his new partner the truth. “Why are you lying to her. Tell her the truth,” she repeatedly screams. The man responds by accusing her of sleeping with someone else. The girlfriend turns to the “lover” and accuses her of having an affair with him despite the fact that she is married. The woman admits to being married. “Your husband knows this? And you are going to stay with (the “lover”) and I’m pregnant?” she asks. The man and his lover walk a few steps but his girlfriend is persistent about him telling the truth. The man accuses her of being angry, and she replies: “I am not angry at the fact that I can’t have you. Something like this? Look at you,” she said. She promises to lay a charge against him. “You can’t support that I’m pregnant with your child. Everyone must know that…” This sets him off. The footage shows him grabbing the girlfriend and brutally punching her in the face, while she has a fistful of the “lover’s” hair in her hand, refusing to let go. A bystander screams: “Haibo, you are hitting a pregnant woman,” but no one intervenes. The girlfriend suffered multiple injuries to her face and was admitted to hospital. She later opened a case of assault, which led to the arrest. Users on Facebook hurled insults at the man, calling for him to be jailed. But the man posted: “To all who hate me, yourl watched a small clip * * judge when you don’t even know the whole story. Anyway, to the person that put this video online, thanks for making me famous (sic).” The girlfriend responded: “To all the people who are sending me messages on Facebook, can you’ll please stop for the sake of my kids. I understand what he did was wrong and he is paying for it as well. I know, he really hit me in front of people and it was wrong.”