Estranged husband drove straight at his wife and kids

A man who denied putting his estranged wife in fear by driving a car at speed in her direction while she walked with their children has been warned that he could be facing 12 months in jail.

Judge Mary Fahy gave the stark warning to Mohamad Elmasri during a hearing at Galway District Court.

Elmasri (37) with an address at 177 Gleann Na Ri, Merlin Park, strenuously denied the charge of contravening a barring order on April 25, 2015, contrary to Section 17(1) of the Domestic Violence Act 1996.

Clearly upset, Marites Pang-an told the court that the barring order had been in place since February of this year but that arrangements were in place for her husband to see their two children at a play centre that specialises in these matters.

She described how her husband had contravened the barring order by attempting to follow her into various rooms in the play centre and then by calling out to her from the upstairs window saying “he loved her”. The situation further escalated when Ms Pang-an left the centre.

“I was pushing the buggy when I saw him in the car. He kept calling me but I just ignored him. He reversed and I tried to hide behind a parked van. Then when I tried to cross the road, the car came towards me. He just drove at us. It was going very fast. I was very scared. I don’t know what will happen next,” said Ms Pang-an who later reported the incident at Galway Garda Station.

Elmasri’s solicitor then accused Ms Pang-an of making the whole thing up to ensure that her client gets into serious difficulty with the courts. She said: “You have fabricated this to get him out of your life and out of your children’s’ lives.”

Giving evidence under oath, Elmasri continued to deny the accusation, adding that he didn’t even see his wife on the date in question.

He said: “The [play centre] staff bring the kids to me. I asked them to do that because I don’t want to have any interaction with her. Why would I do this? She does this all the time. I just want to see my kids.”

Inspector Brendan Carroll then put it to the defendant that this was not the first time he had contravened the barring order adding that he had sent his wife a text message soon after it was imposed. The defendant replied that his solicitor had told him a text was okay.

“No solicitor would tell you that. That’s the problem with this man, he sees things only one way, and that’s his way. There’s only one thing in his mind and that is to put his ex in fear,” said Judge Fahy before marking a conviction against Elmasri.

She then postponed sentencing until December 21 to allow time for family law matters to be completed and warned Elmasri to have no contact whatsoever with the injured party.