Drunk in court

Car Draft

The accused must undergo therapy. The victim is to receive 500 euros in partial compensation for pain and suffering.

(Bild: Dorn Chantall/Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

A 39-year-old Turkish man bombarded his wife, who wanted a divorce, with threatening messages. The man with a criminal record was sentenced to a suspended sentence of eight months at the Feldkirch Regional Court on Wednesday. The trial had previously been adjourned as the man was heavily intoxicated.

In court on Wednesday, the defendant admitted that he had a massive alcohol problem. His appearance at the first hearing at the end of September was accordingly. Having already drunk a bottle of vodka beforehand, he poured himself another Jägermeister in the courtroom and went on a rampage. The trial was adjourned after just a few minutes. The second attempt followed on Wednesday.

"How are you today?" Judge Verena Wackerle asks the man, who is currently serving time in prison for unpaid fines. "Not so good. My nerves are going crazy," he replies. According to the psychological report by expert witness Markus Hochenburger, the accused is suffering greatly from the pain of separation. It had led to a state of bitterness. His frustration tolerance was low.

Effects of the psychological terror
But the 34-year-old "still-wife" is also suffering - from the psychological effects of the terror that the 39-year-old carried out from February to mid-October. "I have heart pain, sleep disorders. I'm mentally and physically broken." Fearing that her husband might also visit her at work, she had to give up her job as a childminder last May.

The defendant organized a veritable telephone terror. Once he sent the woman 93 messages within an hour. Then again she found love letters and roses in her letterbox. The affair finally culminated in the abandoned man making countless bank transfers of one cent each to her account and sending her dangerous threatening messages via the intended purpose.

The judge found the man guilty and sentenced him to eight months in prison on probation. He was also ordered to undergo six months of inpatient withdrawal therapy followed by psychiatric care.