Peter Douglas

Sep 8, 2023

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. A drunken argument in a car led to a man threatening to kill his partner and attempting to drive off a bridge, a court has heard. Peter Douglas Sinclair, 26, appeared in the Invercargill District Court this week after pleading guilty to reckless driving, aggravated disqualified driving and assault in a family relationship. At a sentencing indication in May, Judge Catriona Doyle said "I don’t understand why he wasn’t charged with attempted murder ... he is lucky that was not the outcome." "It’s a nice letter of apology but it would be useless if you had already attended her funeral," she said. She remanded the defendant to allow him to address his behaviour and reduce the risk of re-offending before sentencing. Yesterday, counsel Bill Dawkins said his client had engaged in a stopping violence programme and counselling. He said Sinclair had improved in "leaps and bounds" and the relationship had ended. On March 17, the defendant was driving with his partner on a narrow gravel road in Opio. The pair were intoxicated and an argument broke out. Sinclair punched the woman in the head several times and said he was going to kill them both. He veered into a wooden bridge barrier head-on, causing the car to roll on to its passenger side and slide along the road. The defendant fled the scene on foot and was located by police at his house six hours later. The victim only suffered a small cut to her eye. The court heard the man had two previous convictions for disqualified driving and two for assaulting a female. "If this doesn’t stop, I won’t be able to save him from jail," Mr Dawkins said. He said the relationship was toxic and Judge Russell Walker agreed. "The two of you were completely incompatible," the judge said. The victim said Sinclair was "unpredictable and dangerous". Sinclair was sentenced to 125 hours’ community work, 12 months’ supervision and disqualified from driving for 12 months.