Yellowknife (Nov 05/04) - A man who beat his former girlfriend during a wild brawl in a Yellowknife hotel room was fined $500, Tuesday in territorial court.

"(The man) needs a message not to do this again," said judge Brian Bruser as he handed down the sentence.

The 30-year-old Rae Lakes man pleaded guilty to a single count of assault during the court session.

Crown attorney Loretta Colton said the man, his former girlfriend and another female acquaintance were at the Yellowknife Hotel, Sept. 21, when a fight broke out between the two women.

According to a fourth person in the room, the eventual victim yelled at the other woman and grabbed her by the hair.

The accused, who had been drinking, stepped between the women and hit his former girlfriend in the face three times, Colton said.

The victim tried to reach the telephone, but the man stepped in her way, Colton told the court.

The witness said the man and the other woman then began kicking the victim as she lay on the ground.

Eventually, the witness broke up the fight and alerted hotel security, who called the RCMP. The man and the woman were both charged with assault. "(He) went too far in hitting the complainant as he did," said Colton.

The victim was covered in blood when police arrived and had bruises on her face, said Colton.

In court the man said he "felt bad about the whole thing."