An offshore worker from Angus has been given the go-ahead to fly to Africa after completing an essay about domestic abuse for a sheriff.
Craig Perrie, 41, had been given the unusual punishment homework after a violent row with his wife.
Sheriff Gregor Murray warned Perrie he may not be allowed to travel to work in Senegal if he did not write a letter to the court explaining his plans to stop being a domestic bully.
He was given five days to complete the project.
Free to travel
On Friday, Perrie returned to Dundee Sheriff Court with a letter outlining his strategy for changing his behaviour towards his wife.
Sheriff Murray read the contents of the essay and told Perrie he could undertake his work trip to Senegal.
He deferred sentence until he returns to Scotland in May.
He told Perrie: “You will need to co-operate with the social worker doing the report.
“You should arrange for a copy of your letter to go to the social worker.”
Solicitor David Sinclair, defending, said Perrie would travel to Aberdeen to start isolation on Monday before flying to Africa the next day for a month-long shift.
Sheriff Murray took the novel sentencing approach to Craig Perrie at the start of the week after being told about his latest incident of a domestic nature.
On Monday he said: “You have until Friday to produce a written plan which will detail how you will address your offending and how it is going to stop.
“Your drinking will be addressed in it, your offending will be addressed.
“You can do it on your own, or you can sit down with your wife and do it.”
Drunken row
Perrie – who appeared from custody – had flown into a rage after an all-night drinking session.
He grabbed her mobile phone and threw it to the ground, damaging it and prompting a phone call to the police.
Perrie, from Monikie, admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner and causing fear or alarm to his partner on March 6.
He admitted throwing her mobile phone to the ground and damaging it, an offence aggravated by a domestic element.
The court was told Perrie, who has a number of previous convictions, had been sentenced for domestic assault in January 2018.
