SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Sentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to punching his spouse and two breaches of probation was delayed for two weeks Tuesday afternoon, after a Crown lawyer disputed the man's assertions that he and his spouse were getting back together.

The convicted man stood up in court Tuesday to plead with Judge Christine Gagnon to not put him in jail for the Crown's suggested eight to 10 months, so he can continue to pay for the apartment his common-law wife lives in.

"I want to change and prove to the community that I can change," he said, adding he and his wife were working through a difficult time. "Without me being there it's making her suffer."

The assault charge stemmed from an incident during a night of heavy drinking on Dec. 11, 2009, when the couple got into an argument and the man punched his wife in the eye.

He was also charged with two breaches of probation, one relating to an arrest last August for being highly intoxicated in public. The other stemmed from an arrest for being in the presence of his spouse on March 19 of this year when police were called about an altercation taking place in the couple's home.

The man said his wife, who wrote a letter to the judge in support of him, received an eviction notice recently and faces being out on the street with nowhere to live.

After the man's statement, prosecutor Glen Boyd said the Crown had evidence contradicting the man's claims that he and his wife were getting back together.

"It was made very clear by the victim" that she wanted a no-contact order as part of the probation, Boyd said.

"Her intentions are quite different and she wants no contact with (her spouse)."

Boyd and defence lawyer Abdul Khan, who was seeking a conditional sentence, were unable to reach an agreement on the facts. Gagnon adjourned the case for two weeks.