Drugs, Drunkenness, a Knife and a Dangerous Umbrella Alarm the Courts

Assault of a Pregnant Woman with an Umbrella 

A near 60 year-old Frenchman in Monaco marries a Russian woman about 15 years his junior.

Perhaps it had nothing to do with their age-difference but it took less than 2 years for them to discover the marriage wasn’t working out.

Stuck in an apartment less than 40 square metres for several years while considering divorce they got on each other’s nerves. The sleeping arrangements were primitive with the woman sleeping in a cot and the man on the sofa. 

The tense situation spiked when the man was trying to nap and the woman was playing music loud enough to disturb him. 

He clobbered her with his umbrella, allegedly with the handle and enough to send her to hospital with red welts to the face and body. She immediately filed a complaint with the police. She was also pregnant at the time from a Russian sperm donor. 

The situation had become untenable and the women sought to finalise a divorce and move to another apartment. But she needed to find a job to make everything work financially. 

Violence against women is considered a very serious issue in the Principality and the prosecution sought six months of imprisonment, five to be suspended. 

There were enough inconsistencies in the testimonies of the man and the woman to cast some doubt as to what had actually happened. The Court thus reduced the sentence to thirty days suspended. 

Cocktail of drugs and alcohol leads to orgy of erratic driving 

A drink and drug fuelled erratic drive across the Principality at about one in the morning caught the attention of police. 

On being intercepted, it turned out to be an Italian maritime officer who after making long voyages decided to make merry with a cocktail of alcohol and drugs.

He might have kept out of trouble if he had not made the huge error of judgement putting people’s lives in danger by driving across the Principality in a drugged alcoholic state. To add to the seriousness of his misdemeanor he was carrying in his possession a large knife. 

Claims that he was acting responsibly because he was driving slowly raised the ire of the prosecuting counsel and the Court. 

What could have been an eight day suspended sentence ended up being almost double to 15 days. Better to admit responsibility and demonstrate remorse.