The man, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who cannot be named for legal reasons, repeatedly punched his former wife in the head and pulled out chunks of her hair during the violent and frenzied attack, which happened in front of their three children at the woman’s Woonona home in October last year.

However, when questioned by police after the incident, the man told officers the matter was a family one, and attempted to downplay his behaviour.

He even went as far as to blame his wife for the incident during a subsequent interview with a court-appointed Probation and Parole officer.

A clearly furious magistrate Michael Stoddart slammed the man’s actions, as well as his apparent nonchalant attitude, saying he didn’t care if the man’s cultural background condoned such behaviour.

‘‘I don’t care where you come from, no woman should be subjected to this violence,’’ he said.

‘‘This was such a cowardly act you took, it’s disgraceful quite frankly.’’

Mr Stoddart also took aim at the fact the incident took place in front of the couple’s children.

‘‘What sort of a mark is going to be left in the minds of your children over what their father did to their mother?’’ he said.

‘‘You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.’’

The court heard the estranged couple had been in a relationship for more than a decade but split about three of four years ago, with the father living at Fairy Meadow and the mother and children, aged 12, seven and six, living at Woonona.

Around midnight on October 11, the man arrived at the woman’s home, went inside and began drinking red wine.

The pair’s 12-year-old son said he woke around 2am to his parents arguing over an injury the boy had received while playing soccer.

The child said he heard his father threaten to kill his mother more than once  during the argument.

When she asked him to leave, the man grabbed the woman by the hair and repeatedly punched her in the head, the boy said.

He told police his father hit his mother ‘‘more than 10 times’’ and ‘‘as hard as he could’’, prompting the boy at one stage to step between his parents in an attempt to stop the violent attack.

However the man pushed his son out of the way and continued to punch the woman.

The boy also told police that at various stages during the dispute both his younger siblings tried to intervene in the attack.

The man eventually left the house.

When police arrived a short time later they described the victim as confused and disoriented, and she was taken to Wollongong Hospital for treatment.

 Officers took photos of clumps of the woman’s hair strewn through the hallway and laundry, as well as the empty bottle of red wine.

They said the two younger children were visibly upset, with one telling officers she was scared of her father.

Later that morning police arrested the man at his home.

He declined a police interview, telling officers: ‘‘Maybe I lost my temper, but this is a family problem, we have come so far. I understand I’m here because of the law, but it is a family issue’’.

Mr Stoddart refused suggestions from the man’s lawyer that a suspended prison sentence was an appropriate punishment, instead jailing the man for a total of nine months, with a six-month non-parole period.

The man immediately lodged an appeal against the decision and was released on bail ahead of the appeal hearing in the District Court in March.