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Court hears yet another domestic violence case

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting his wife appeared in District Court last week but was released on his own recognizance to await his next court appearance, set for Sept. 24th in the Family, Drug & Alcohol (FDA) court.

(Samoa News is withholding the names of all parties involved, in the interest of protecting the identity of the victim)

The government alleges that a woman contacted the Tafuna Substation a week ago Saturday night requesting help for her daughter, whom she claimed was assaulted by her husband. The victim and her husband live in a rental unit in Ottoville.

The victim told police that the incident arose after she confronted her husband about his drinking. She said her husband and his male friends were drinking at their house, and she advised him to put a stop to it, and to not to waste any more money on alcohol.

According to the victim, she stays home, and her husband is the only one who works to provide for their family.

The government alleges that while the victim was watching TV in the living room, her husband confronted her and told her that his money was none of her business. Moreover, she is not to speak to him like that in front of his friends.

While the victim was trying to explain to her husband what she meant, the man allegedly punched her in the face, causing her left eye to bleed.

The victim told police that she fell down in the living room and hit her head hard on the cement floor. The husband also allegedly threatened the victim that he will shoot her if she called police.

The government claims that the man returned to where his friends were and continued their drinking session, but the victim walked over to a neighbor’s house for help.

It was the neighbor who dropped the victim off at her mother’s home later that night and cops were contacted.

As a condition of his release, the defendant is not to make any direct or indirect contact with the victim, and he has to find a place to stay while his case is pending.

“If you fail to comply with these conditions, the court will hold you in custody without bond until your case is resolved,” Patea advised the defendant.