A business director accused of revving a chainsaw at a woman before pouring radiator coolant on her, threatening to kill her and assaulting her says he was using the chainsaw to cut wood.
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The accused, who is not named to protect the identity of the complainant, appeared via video link in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with four counts of common assault and one count each of reckless threat to kill another person and possessing an offensive weapon.
He has not pleaded to the charges.
Police documents tendered to the court state that the alleged offending on July 7 happened when he began arguing with the complainant inside his south Canberra business.
He then allegedly backhanded the back of her and hitting her in the face, knocking her to the ground before pouring radiator coolant all over her.
There is a risk of the defendant harassing or endangering the welfare of the complainant and I must consider that as a primary consideration.
- Prosecutor
She was able to escape his grip before grabbing a nearby vacuum cleaner pole, prompting the defendant to allegedly take hold of a chainsaw, turning it on and followed her.
She retaliated and threw the pole at the defendant and immediately ran in the opposite direction of the defendant.
The defendant was then able to get within metres of the complainant, who had picked up the pole, and pointed the chainsaw towards her upper body as if to cut her with it.
She ran off, prompting the defendant to follow her and allegedly yelled "I'm gonna kill ya, I'm gonna f------ kill ya".
Police documents allege he then punched and slapped her a number of times before police arrived less than 20 minutes.
After being arrested and during a police interview, he told police he was using the chainsaw to cut wood before "she hit me over the arm".
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Edward Chen applied for bail, saying the alleged offending was an "uncharacteristic aberration".
Mr Chen said that even though the CCTV of the alleged offending, which was played to the court, showed a strong prosecution case, his client did not present a flight risk.
He said the risks associated with granting his client bail were "purely theoretical and not grounded upon evidence".
The solicitor said his client did not know where the complainant lived or worked and that he would be at his business on an almost 24-hour basis.
Mr Chen said the accused had a limited criminal history in relation to violent offending and that his father, who was in court, would be living with him and thereby provide supervision.
The prosecutor opposed bail based on the likelihood of reoffending and endangering the safety of the complainant.
She said the it was "clearly an escalating situation" between the accused and complainant with police attending the premises four times since October 2020.
She said the the actions, particularly "how he revved the chainsaw at her and chased her several times making threats to kill" were dangerous.
Special Magistrate Jane Campbell refused bail, saying the risk he posed to the complainant was "too great" even though he was not a flight risk.
She said the alleged offending was serious and that "no doubt the (alleged) victim is very fearful".
"There is a risk of the defendant harassing or endangering the welfare of the complainant and I must consider that as a primary consideration...particularly in this instance where there was some serious (alleged) violent offending," she said.
Ms Campbell said there were also concerns the complainant was not acting protectively as she has not had contact with police or the DPP since the incident.
The accused is scheduled to front court again on August 10.
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