Sentencing was adjourned until next Thursday for a Policeman convicted of punching an ex-girlfriend in the face ? to allow a prosecutor to get the victim?s consent for an absolute discharge.

National cricket team all-rounder Dennis Archer, appeared in court before Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo yesterday afternoon after being convicted last November of assault causing bodily harm to Jacqueline Jackson on July 18, 2003.

The adjournment came after the Barbadian?s lawyer, Mark Pettingill, suggested Ms Jackson had provoked him, causing him to act irrationally.

?This woman, who at the time of this incident was a body builder ? they both were,? said Mr. Pettingill of the victim. ?This was a woman was in his house assaulting him. Three out of four of the limbs of provocation are satisfied in this case.

?We are talking about an upstanding individual. Provocation finds that even a reasonable man could lose it.?

The lawyer also suggested the incident might have been avoided had the troubled couple reconciled.

?Dennis Archer could have avoided all of this if he would have gone back with this lady,? he said. ?Even up to the time Dennis Archer went away to play with the cricket team, this lady was calling him.?

But Crown counsel Shakira Dill argued that a custodial sentence was appropriate given the circumstances.

And she read out portions of the Victim?s Impact Report submitted by Ms Jackson which stated she was still having problems with her eyes due to the punch.

?At times it feels as though the eye is being pulled out of its socket,? Ms Jackson?s statement said. ?To me it was more than a punch. I could have lost my life completely. I could have died.?

Mr. Pettingill pushed for a complete discharge, suggesting the incident was minor and out of character for Archer.

?I am saying that a conviction is burning him,? he said. ?This was one physical response, not a beating, not a kicking, not a slapping around in physical anger.?

However, Mr. Tokunbo said he was not able to agree to a discharge unless the victim granted her permission.

?The only thing that could persuade me to do an absolute discharge would be if the complainant was satisfied with that,? he said. ?I don?t think I can justify a complete discharge considering the bodily injury that was caused.?

Ms Dill interjected, however, that she would be willing to speak to Ms Jackson about the proposed sentence.

?I have no problem contacting the witness,? she said.

At which point, Mr. Tokunbo opted to adjourn the sentencing until next week to await a response from Ms Jackson.