A father who used a piece of sugar cane to slap his daughter after he said she was 'facety', appeared before the court on assault charges yesterday.

Charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm is Anthia Dennie.

Dennie pleaded not guilty to assaulting his wife, but pleaded guilty to assaulting his daughter.

Dennie told the court that his daughter called him, "Damn, stupid fool", which he considered disrespectful. He then used the sugar cane to 'scold' her, but had no idea that scolding her in that way would be considered an assault.

He also wanted his daughter to formally apologise to him for her disrespectful remarks.

The complainant, Dennie's wife, told the court that on the day of the incident, their daughter woke up and heard them quarrelling.

electricity bill

She then went to wash her blouse and Dennie began to complain about the electricity bill which led to her comment. The court was also informed that since the incident occurred, Dennie has refused to speak to his daughter as he wants an apology from her.

Dennie eventually had his bail extended until October 7 when the matter will go to trial.

A social enquiry report was also requested on that date from the probation officer who had been assigned to the case.