Woman lied she was pregnant in bid to stop man beating her
A man who beat and throttled a woman who claimed she was expecting in a bid to halt the violence was jailed for three years and nine months.
Paul Coulter attacked his victim in her home in the east of Glasgow on New Year's Day last year.
The woman said: "I told him I was pregnant to stop him from hitting me."
She was asked if Coulter had said anything and replied: "You have probably lost it anyway."
The assault victim, who was not pregnant, said: "I didn't know what to do. I had never been in a situation like that before."
The woman went to hospital following the assault accompanied by Coulter but revealed to a nurse that it was him who had attacked her.
Coulter (33) a prisoner, was convicted of assaulting her to her severe injury on January 1 last year by repeatedly punching and kicking her and repeatedly compressing her neck.
He was originally charged with raping the victim but was acquitted of that allegation.
A judge told Coulter at the High Court in Edinburgh: "You detained her in her own flat and subjected her to what was really an appalling assault."
Lord Boyd of Duncansby said he accepted that Coulter had taken her to hospital afterwards but added: "The assault you perpetrated on her was a very serious one."
The judge pointed out that Coulter had been jailed in Ireland for a similar type of offence.
He jailed him for three years for the attack and a further nine months for breaching bail. Coulter will also be supervised for a year after his release.
Defence counsel Ronnie Renucci said the offence appeared to be "rooted in drink".
He said Coulter had been assessed as a medium risk.