Bail denied for Broome man who allegedly poured methylated spirits on partner, breached conditional orders

A Broome man has had his bail application denied after breaching multiple conditional orders following his arrest for allegedly assaulting his former partner, pouring methylated spirits on her and threatening her with a lighter. Ka Fai George Chan appeared before Broome Magistrates Court on August 21 via video link from custody charged with a string of assault charges, as well as drug and traffic breaches dating back from March to July this year. The 33-year-old entered a guilty plea to the breaching conditional order charges, but not guilty to administering poison and assault charges against his former partner. Defence lawyer Nick Brookes pushed for a bail application on the basis Mr Chan was confused with the dates he had to be in court by a few days, hence breaching his conditional release orders. Police prosecutor Cara Jellie opposed the bail application because of the risk Mr Chan had on the alleged victim and “total non-compliance” for following community and police orders. The court heard Mr Chan allegedly punched his former partner multiple times and chased her with a 20cm knife around their bathroom, throwing a rock at her back when she ran outside. A neighbour heard the incident and called police. One month later, Mr Chan allegedly became agitated with the victim and poured methylated spirits all over her, held up a lighter and threatened to set her on fire. Prosecutor Jellie said the highly flammable liquid got into her eyes and mouth, causing significant pain to her eyes. The victim’s jumper was seized for further inspection. Magistrate Janelle Scutt said Mr Chan had been “given multiple opportunities” to comply with court orders and denied his bail application. Mr Chan is due to appear in court on September 4 following legal advice for his breach charges and will be allocated a trial date on October 16 for his assault charges.