Chinese man excluded from IoM after slapping and kicking wife

36-year-old changes assault plea to guilty

A Chinese national has been excluded from the Isle of Man for five years after admitting slapping and kicking his wife.

Nianchao Yang, formerly of Central Promenade in Douglas, had originally denied assaulting the woman and had been due to stand trial.

However at Douglas Courthouse today (30 January) the 36-year-old changed his plea to guilty.

Assault

The court heard witnesses had seen Yang having an altercation with his wife, in a car park, at 3.30pm on 3 January; he struck her in the face causing her nose to bleed.

When police arrested him he told officers she’d tripped over a plant pot, that the incident was a ‘joke’ and that he ‘owns’ the woman.

Yang, who doesn’t speak or read English, was assisted in court by an interpreter.

The court heard the pair had been married for 13 years and Yang was ‘highly intoxicated’ at the time.

“If he hadn’t drank that much, he accepts that what happened wouldn’t have occurred,” his advocate explained.  

‘Destitute’

She also told the court her client had been working on the Island for around three months and had been sending money back to his parents in China who were looking after one of his children.

At a previous hearing, earlier this month, it was revealed that the company Yang was working for had revoked his visa, following the incident, and his wife had subsequently returned home.

At that time Yang’s advocate had applied for bail so that he could return to China to work ahead of any trial taking place: “His family are essentially destitute at the moment,” she added.

That application was refused by Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood who told Yang that she had ‘very little faith’ that he’d return to the Island.

Custody

Today Yang’s advocate told the court that the defendant had struggled with being on remand at the Isle of Man Prison and staff were using Google Translate to communicate with him.

“It’s had quite a negative impact on his mental health,” she added: “His only desire is to, essentially, go back to China.”

Sentencing Yang to six weeks in custody Deputy High Bailiff Braidwood told him: “This was a domestic abuse incident involving an assault on your wife.”

Arrangements to remove Yang from the Island, on his release from prison, will be made; the court was told a family member has offered to pay for his onward travel.