Yellowknife (Oct 10/03) - A 25-year-old man who hit his wife on the head with a phone was sentenced to a day in jail and placed on probation for six months.

Married for five years and the father of two children, the man pleaded guilty to assault and received a stern warning from Chief Judge Michel Bourassa.

"The childhood you had, you're passing on to your kids," said Bourassa, alluding to abuse the man suffered when he was younger.

"It's a culture of violence that needs to end."

Crown attorney Sandra Aitken said the Dettah man returned home from work on June 15 and immediately became upset with his wife.

He grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground and when she went to call police, grabbed the phone from her hands and hit her on the head.

The woman's injuries were not serious.

Defence lawyer Margot Engley said the victim stands behind her husband and the couple plans to undergo counselling.

Bourassa urged the man to take counselling seriously and refrain from hitting his wife.

"Don't just be sorry now. Be sorry when you go home. Be sorry next month."