Spanner attack puts new spin on jealous husband

By Angela Xu  |   2008-7-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A FARMER hit his estranged wife over the head with a spanner because he suspected she was having an affair, a court heard yesterday.

Yuan Xiejin, 59, a Zhejiang Province native, confessed to the Xuhui District People's Court he had deliberately injured his wife.

On February 24, when Tu, a domestic helper, was cycling to her employer's home, she was stopped by Yuan on Yongfu Road.

He hit her over the head with a spanner and Tu fell to the ground, her head bleeding, the court heard.

Yuan was prevented from escaping by passers-by and was soon detained by police. Tu suffered serious brain injuries.

Prosecutors learned that Yuan and Tu had had a de facto marriage in the countryside without registration. They had two daughters and a son.

"But he always abused me for small things and I couldn't bear him any more," Tu told prosecutors.

She came to the city to work as a domestic helper 10 years ago and had never returned home.

Yuan heard from a villager last year that his wife might have a lover in Shanghai.

"Since she has never been back after she left, I believe she must have a lover in Shanghai," Yuan told the court.

He then learned where Tu worked from villagers who also worked in the city and went there to "teach her a lesson."

The court didn't announce a verdict yesterday. But Tu asked the court to give Yuan a light punishment.