Court Gives Husband Who Stabbed Wife Minimum Sentence Due To 'Reasonable Cause For Jealousy'

A man in Kazakhstan who stabbed his wife in front of their 5-year-old daughter out of jealousy last year has received the minimum sentence for his charge because the court concluded that his feelings were born out of a "reasonable cause."

Nikolai Vedenyapin, 30, was found guilty of intentional infliction of grievous harm to health in connection to the May 21 attack on his wife, Irina Vedenyapina, Kazakhstani outlet Tengrinews.kz reported.

Vedenyapina, who is from the city of Almaty, ended up suffering multiple penetrating stab wounds to the abdominal cavity, sustaining injuries to the left lobe of her liver and hepatoduodenal ligament. She also received stab wounds to the neck, injuring her larynx and esophagus.

Vedenyapin pleaded guilty in court and claimed that he attacked his wife out of jealousy of a friend who held private photo shoots with Vedenyapina in their home.

He was ultimately found guilty under article 106 of Kazakhstan's Criminal Code but only received the minimum three-year sentence after a court in Almaty concluded his actions were a result of the "ambiguous behavior" Vedenyapina exhibited.

"The victim herself... gave the defendant a reasonable cause for jealousy, which served as an impetus for his unlawful behavior," a machine translation of the verdict by the Bostandyk District Court No. 2 read.

"In this connection, the court has no grounds to impose the maximum amount of punishment," it added.

Vedenyapin will serve his sentence in a medium-security prison. He will also have to pay moral damages amounting to 2,000,000 Kazakhstani tenge ($4,310) to his wife.

In a similar story, a British man was sentenced to five years in prison after he attacked his partner in a jealous rage and threatened to kill her.

Christopher Betts received the sentence after he was found guilty of causing actual bodily harm and making threats to kill.

The 27-year-old, who is from Cambridge, England, attacked his girlfriend in February last year and accused her of cheating after she received a Facebook message from a male friend.

Betts, of Carlyle Road, repeatedly punched the victim more than 10 times in the face, grabbed her around the throat, pinned her to the floor and held her there with such force that she passed out.

He later told his girlfriend to write a letter to her daughter because she would not be waking up again.

"Betts acted like a thug as he assaulted and threatened to kill his partner in this disgusting and disgraceful way," Detective Sergeant Elaine Penniket of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary said.