Wife's machete attack came "without cause or warning" (From Western Telegraph)

Tenby wife's machete attack came "without cause or warning", Swansea crown court is told

1:12pm Tuesday 20th July 2010 in News

A Tenby woman tried to kill her husband with a machete like weapon without cause or warning, a jury heard today (Tuesday).

Shafia Sofan, aged 50, twice hit Mohammed Abdul Sofan to his head just seconds after serving him a cup of tea and a slice of bread and butter.

After he managed to force her out of the house she tried to get back in by chopping through the kitchen door with an axe, it was alleged.

Sofan denies attempting to murder her husband at their home in The Maudlins, Broadwell Hayes, Tenby, on March 11th this year. She also denies a lesser charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but she has admitted wounding without intent to cause gbh.

Huw Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court the couple had been married for 32 years and had five children.

At lunchtime on March 11th Sofan served her husband with food and tea and sat next to him for a short period.

Then, without saying "a single word," she went to the kitchen and returned holding a botie, a 25 inch long hooked blade used by members of the Pakistani community to cut vegetables and meat.

"Nothing had been said and they had not fallen out," said Mr Rees.

Mr Sofan felt a sharp blow to the back of his head and turned round to see his wife holding the botie. She struck him a second time but by then he had placed his right hand over his head and the blow cut his fingers.

Mr Sofan pushed his wife out of the front door and locked it. While he was on the telephone to the police he could see she had gone round to the back door, which he bolted.

Mr Rees alleged that Mrs Sofan could be heard "saying, very calmly, I'm going to kill you."

She then used a hand axe to chop at the door.

Mr Rees said police arrived and persuaded Mr Sofan to open the door. But when he did so his wife rushed in and went upstairs. While police attended to his injuries and Mrs Sofan returned downstairs with a handbag over her arm.

She was arrested but refused to answer any questions. The following day her legal team gave police a prepared statement in which she admitted picking up the botie but could not explain why.

The next thing she could remember was standing by the back door. She said she could remember shouting through the door "I'm not going to kill you," not "I'm going to kill you."

Mrs Sofan said she could not explain what had happened, but she added, "I would never harm him or try to kill him."

Mr Sofan, a waiter, told the jury they had not argued and his wife had not spoken "a single word" before the attack.

But when he pushed her into the hallway she said she was going to kill him.

Cross examined by Mrs Sofan's barrister James Jenkins, he agreed that shortly before the incident he had spent three months in Bangladesh, without his wife, where he had contracted another marriage.

But he had not actually married.

Mr Sofan agreed he had a temper and would shout sometimes but he had never hit his wife, and this had been the first time she had hit him.

He also agreed that the initial blow had caused an injury one tenth of an inch deep and doctors had treated it with only glue.

"She just turned and I don't know why," he said.

Mr Sofan told the jury he did not want his wife to go to jail, but to receive psychological help instead.

The trial continues.