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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 33-year-old man was sentenced to three months in jail Tuesday for assaulting his father.

The man and his father were both intoxicated at the time of the May incident.

The accused held his father down on a couch by the throat with one hand while repeatedly punching him in the face with the other, Crown attorney Terri Nguyen said.

The man then briefly released his father, telling him, "Breathe, you bastard, breathe."

Nguyen presented court with four photos of the victim's face and neck taken after the incident. Judge Bernadette Schmaltz described the injuries as "severe."

The convicted man told the court, "I can't say it's not my fault, but it takes two to tango."

He added that while he doesn't excuse his behaviour, he and his father have had trouble getting along for many years.

"That hate came out and I got mad," he said.

Schmaltz responded by reminding the man, "As great as your father's sins may have been ... You're 33-years-old now. You can't keep blaming him."

"I do note that you never once said you were sorry," she added, referring to the man's statement in court.

In addition to his three-month sentence, he will also serve one year probation in which Schmaltz recommended he take counselling and treatment, specific to alcohol abuse, family violence and anger management - barring any interference with possible employment.

The convicted man had just quit a four-year job a few months prior to the incident and after that "everything just collapsed around me."

He added that he wants nothing more than to "get back on my feet again."

As part of his sentence, he is not to have any contact with his father if he has been drinking.