Man brutally assaults daughter but escapes jail. Defence pleads "cultural differences."

So a man is driving along through Blanchardstown one day when he sees his 17-year old daughter walking to college with a (presumably male) friend. He immediately starts screaming “Whore!” at her (as you do), threatens to kill her, forces her into the car and beats her severely, over and over again, variously using a screwdriver and a knife. The Independent reports:

Didani ordered his daughter into the vehicle, then began hitting her in the face as he drove home.

The court heard that he stopped the car in a bus lane and started hitting her with the handle of the screwdriver.

"If I get you to a forest right now, I'll kill you," he told her.

Didani also beat her as soon as they returned home.

He kicked and hit her while she lay on the ground before emptying the contents of her handbag on the floor.

Didani then walked into the kitchen and returned with a kitchen knife.

He put the knife to her face and said: "I'm going to kill you."

So, did he go to prison for assault? After all, apart from credibly threatening to kill his daughter, he caused her considerable physical and psychological harm. Well, no. Instead he got a meaningless two and a half-year suspended sentence. And why? Well, here’s a clue:

Gda Mention agreed with Vincent Heneghan, defending, that there were "cultural differences" which were key to this case.

Well, there you have it. If your culture says it’s okay to viciously assault and threaten a 17-year old girl for some imagined indiscretion, then the Irish justice system will simply have to get used to that.