approach in sentencing a man who admitted punching and trying to choke his estranged wife.

Mr. Francis yesterday decided against a prison sentence for Roderick Carlton Butler of Gilbert Road, Sandys after consulting a social inquiry report that outlined events leading up the assault.

He sentenced Butler to two years probation with counselling.

"The report shows he was under a lot of stress for all kinds of reasons on this day,'' Mr. Francis said.

At an earlier hearing, Butler admitted assaulting Gina Butler outside her home in Warwick on October 19 in spite of a registered letter barring him from the residence.

Yesterday, Butler claimed he attempted suicide after his wife left him taking their two children, to live with another man.

He added he had seen his children only 11 days in eight months and had been under a lot of stress.

Police prosecutor Inspector Peter Duffy said that since the assault, Gina Butler had taken out an expedited order against the defendant.

But he advocated a suspended sentence for Butler, who has no recent convictions, as a "carrot and stick'' approach.

Mr. Francis replied that in the eyes of the public "a suspended sentence is no sentence.

"One wants to take a course that doesn't result in just punishing him and ending up back where we were at the end of the day.

"Even if you lock the man up for a year, you still have to deal with the matter,'' Mr. Francis said.

"I would like to take a course that has permanent results. These are people who are going to have to come to some sort of an arrangement as long as they have two children who are minors.''