A man charged with assaulting his wife and wilfully damaging their vehicle has had his charges dropped.

Aaron Etuete appeared in the Criminal Court in Avarua on Thursday before Justice of the Peace John Whitta.

He had previously been facing a charge of assault on a female, and another of wilful damage.

Defence counsel Norman George explained to the Court that the matter involved Etuete and his wife, and his wife was not forced to testify against him.

“She refuses to give evidence against him,” George told the Court.

“They are both owners of the car that he damaged; she doesn’t want this to proceed. To be honest, I was expecting the withdrawal of these charges. The prosecution is not in a position to demand the wife to provide evidence.”

George proposed the charges to be dismissed. JP Whitta agreed with George’s proposition after some consideration.