Yarmouth man given suspended sentence

A Yarmouth man who was caught on CCTV punching his girlfriend 25 times and headbutting her in violent attack escaped an immediate jail sentence last night.

Ahmad Moosafeer, of Wellington Road, was previously warned he could face jail after the brutal attack on his partner Maria Isaie on May 10.

Appearing for sentencing at Yarmouth Magistrates Court yesterday Moosafeer was given a 16 week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months after he admitted causing actual bodily harm at a previous hearing.

The court heard Moosafeer, 30, had been drinking heavily on the night of the incident and when his partner meet him at a seafront bar, he accused her of flirting with other men.

Prosecuting, Elizabeth Houghton said the couple left the bar at 5am and started to walk home when Moosafeer began hitting her.

When police found the couple in Apsley Road, Moosafeer could be seen holding her with one hand while he punched her with the other.

Mrs Houghton told the court that when Moosafeer spotted the police van he stopped hitting her and put his arm around Miss Isaie and carried on walking.

He was stopped and arrested by police.

Miss Isaie suffered a swollen lip and was left feeling tender and told officers she didn't want to press charges.

Last month the court heard that Moosafeer had punched her more than 25 times and headbutted her in the sustained violent attack.

Heather Little, mitigating, told the court that the couple had been apart during the court proceeding, due to bail conditions, but were planning to resume their two-year relationship.

She said: “He has no previous convictions and his partner has indicated he is not a violent man.”

The court had previously heard the attack was “totally out of character” for Moosafeer, an unemployed builder.

Moosafeer was also sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay �60 costs and was given a supervision order for 18 months.