Wife wanted to get out of car at one point
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A MAN who grabbed the wheel of a car being driven by his wife, during a heated argument, has regarded the incident as a wake-up call in their marriage.
Wick Sheriff Court heard this today when Mark Kine, 49, appeared for sentence. He previously admitted threatening or abusive behaviour and culpable and and reckless conduct.
The couple were on a night out in Thurso, on December 20, last year and were on their way home to TighNa Muir in the rural hamlet of Dunnet, when trouble broke out. The argument became more heated and Kine got so aggressive towards he wife that at one point she was going to stop the car and "get away from him".
David Barclay, prosecuting, said that the accused grabbed the wheel "causing the car to skid to a halt". Mrs Kine was later found to be in "a distressed state".
Solicitor Neil Wilson said that Kine's behaviour was "entirely out of character" and commented: "I suspect matters had been brewing for a while. He has never sought to shirk the blame and fully accepts responsibility for what happened. My client has indicated that he regards the incident as a wake-up call."
Bail conditions had been varied to allow the couple to "a semblance of family life back" and Mr Wilson appealed to Sheriff Andrew Berry to treat the incident as "a one-off".
The sheriff saw a background report which he said had given "a considerable insight" into what had contributed to the offence and noted that the accused was focused on accepting medical assistance available.
Sentence was deferred for six months to allow Kine, a first offender, to demonstrate he can behave.