JUDGMENT

Abdul Malik Ishak J:

[1] This case is yet another example of how a battered housewife goes through life in a nightmare; the nightmare of being brutally assaulted by her own husband. Marriages are said to be made in heaven, with lots of love and affection and, in the context of this case, it culminated into violence.

[2] The petitioner here was married to the respondent on 4 October 1963 according to Chinese customary rites (see encl 9, exh "CAM 1" depicting the marriage photograph and the "marriage certificate" in Chinese character not translated for the benefit of the Court and would certainly go against the decision of Syarikat Telekom Malaysia Bhd v. Business Chinese Directory Sdn Bhd, [1994] 2 CLJ 729). Be that as it may, the marriage must have been a happy one because the petitioner bore seven children, four boys and three girls whose ages ranged from sixteen to thirty years of age at the time of filing the affidavit in encl 9. Things got out of hand. The respondent behaved unreasonably to such an extent that the petitioner could not stand the sight of him. They decided to live separately at two separate residences for eight (8) solid years. The petitioner stayed at hou