The Mohib case

The Herald reported:

An Auckland man whose discharge without conviction for beating his wife with a hammer has been overturned says he fears the consequences for his family.

Yasir Mohib denies a hammer was involved but admits assaulting his wife. The facts of the case are that the assault occurred after she complained they weren’t holding hands while watching a movie together.

So he bashes her for that – charming.

He told the Herald today he was “disappointed” the decision to discharge him had been overruled by the High Court but was prepared to accept his punishment.

But he fears his family will be punished too if it means he is deported to Pakistan. His family do not want to be split up and deportation would mean his two New Zealand-born wives and their five Kiwi children would go with him.

All they could choose to stay with someone who doesn’t bash them.

“If I did wrong I should be punished for it but not my whole family,” Mohib told theHerald.

That’s called consequences.

He said he had pleaded guilty to the charge of assault with a weapon because he was desperate to be reunited with his family from whom he was separated after the assault.

“I wanted to go back to my family and they wanted me to come back but there was no way until I pleaded guilty.

“No, there was no hammer involved. There was an argument. There were bruises. I punched her with my empty hand.”

The victim, his wife Fatimah, also told the Herald that no weapon was involved. She said the hammer came to be part of the statement of facts put before the court because of pressure from members of the wider family.

They have since had a fourth child. Mohib has one child with his second wife.

Yes – he has two wives.

Judge Wylie said he had seen photographs of the bruises. “The bruises are significant and they appear to have an inner round ring which I suspect is consistent with a blow from an object such as a hammer.”

He had doubts about Mohib’s insight into the offending and said the victim’s retraction of her initial statement to police was a “rather disturbing factor in the domestic violence context”.

“The assault was vicious and premeditated. Mr Mohib has denied full responsibility and he has sought to shift the blame to the victim and her family,” said Justice Wylie.

It’s so sad to see them now covering up for him.