Man given suspended sentence for false imprisonment of wife

A man who “bundled” his estranged wife into the back of his car against her will, in the hope of convincing her to reconcile with him, has been given a suspended six month prison sentence.

Antal Fekete pushed his wife into the car under the pretext of showing her their dog before driving off with her shouting and screaming in the back, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Judge Martin Nolan said the pair reunited shortly after the incident and are now "to all intents and purposes happily married".

Fekete (51), of Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of falsely imprisoning his wife at Clanbrassil Street on March 21st, 2016. He has no previous convictions and his wife withdrew her complaint against him, the court heard.

Garda David O'Reilly told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that Fekete and his wife had been married for a number of years when the relationship broke down in March 2016.

Coffee meeting

The pair arranged to meet for coffee a week later to discuss household issues.

Fekete told his wife their dog was in the car and she went out to see him. He then “bundled her into the back of the car”, Garda O’Reilly said.

The woman was “shouting and roaring”, which prompted nearby witnesses at a bus stop to call gardaí. She managed to get out of the car before Fekete pushed her back in and locked it.

Fekete then took off in the car, with his wife still in the back. He made his way to their nearby home, where he was arrested and his wife was taken from the car. The incident lasted “a number of minutes”, Mr Cooney said.

Fekete told gardaí­ he put his wife in the car in the hopes he could convince her to reunite with him, Garda O’Reilly said.

The court heard Fekete’s wife was “very emotional” in the wake of the incident. However, they reunited shortly afterwards and are still together.

Judge Nolan noted the pair were reconciled but said false imprisonment is “a serious offence”.