Frustrated that his wife wouldn’t give him money to buy drugs, Ko Lo Ta assaulted his spouse several times before fleeing the house, only for police to find him hours later.
Appearing in Moose Jaw provincial court on Sept. 29, Ta, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of assault and received a suspended sentence — no jail time — so he can serve the next 12 months on probation.
As part of a joint submission, he will have to follow conditions such as keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, reporting to a probation officer, taking anger management and domestic violence programming, having no contact with his wife, performing 25 hours of community service by March 26, 2021, and not possessing any weapons.
Police visited a house on Stadacona Street East on March 30 at 7:07 p.m. after receiving a 911 call, explained Crown prosecutor Rob Parker while discussing the facts. Officers arrived and spoke with the woman, who claimed Ta had assaulted her an hour earlier and then had left home.
The woman was taken to the police station to receive help from a translator since she could not speak nor read English well. While there, the woman explained that her husband demanded that she give him money to purchase drugs, but she refused to do so, and they engaged in an argument.
“During the argument, he punched her in the forehead (several times) and on the right ear. He then pinned her up against the wall by holding her by the neck and then pushed down on the couch,” Parker said. “She had her youngest child of three months old in her arms while she was assaulted. The child was not injured and the other children were not in the room.”
The injuries to the woman’s neck were visible, so police took pictures of the damages. However, the woman declined to go to the hospital after the police offered to take her there.
Parker noted that Ta has a criminal conviction from 2013, but it was related to impaired driving.
Defence lawyer Darcy Dumont told Judge Brian Hendrickson that Ta was remorseful and sorry for his actions, while he wanted to move on from this. Ta and his wife are in the process of separating; he is the main income earner and provides support for their children and other family expenses.
Hendrickson accepted the joint submission and accepted Ta’s claim that he was sorry. The judge pointed out assault on an intimate partner is an aggravating factor in this situation and all situations, especially since this problem happens in Saskatchewan far too often.
Provincial court next meets on Sept. 30.
The Provincial Court section holds articles that have been written without prejudice with the information that has been presented in a public court of appeal available to the media and public.
