A 32-year-old man accused of slapping his girlfriend in the face several times in their Burnaby home and causing "unnecessary pain" to a cat has been granted a conditional discharge with 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to one count of assault.
Abhirup Dutta appeared in Vancouver provincial court Friday for an incident on Jan. 3 this year.
He was living with his girlfriend and a roommate at the time, according to agreed facts presented in court by Crown prosecutor Claire MacKenzie
On the night of the incident, Dutta had been "drinking heavily" and was "very intoxicated" while talking to his mother on the phone, "yelling, hitting himself," according to MacKenzie.
His girlfriend became concerned about his emotional state and locked herself into her bedroom.
"Mr. Dutta broke down the door, went in and pulled (his girlfriend's) hair very hard," MacKenzie said.
He then left and began shouting at their roommate, according to the facts.
When his girlfriend tried to intervene, Dutta slapped her several times in the face.
Dutta was arrested and charged with one count of assault, one count of causing unnecessary pain to a cat and two counts of breaching an undertaking, according to the Vancouver court registry.
No details about the charges involving the cat were presented in court, and that charge, as well as the other two charges, were stayed at the end of Friday's hearing.
MacKenzie and defence lawyer Terence Saund both called for a conditional discharge in the case.
That is the sentence B.C. provincial court Judge Laura Bakan eventually imposed, but she said she would not have granted Dutta a conditional discharge if the lawyers hadn't come to her with a joint submission.
"I find the violence, even without a record, aggravating," she said.
Bakan noted violence against an intimate partner is also aggravating according to the Criminal Code.
As factors in Dutta's favour, Bakan highlighted that he has no criminal record in Canada, he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
Saund said his client moved to Toronto in March and has completed counselling and a program on anger management geared to newcomers to Canada.
A criminal record would affect Dutta's prospects of permanent residency in Canada, according to Saund, who said his client is currently here on a work visa.
During his 12 months of probation he is banned from contacting his former girlfriend and former roommate.
He is also banned from possessing any weapons for 12 months.
If Dutta abides by his probation conditions, he will not have a criminal record.
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