A rally car driver accused of biting part of his girlfriend's ear off during a drunken dispute at their Mount Warrigal home will fight criminal charges on the basis he was acting in self defence.
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Tristan James Kent allegedly admitted latching onto the woman's ear in the early hours of January 12 but claims he did it to get her to release her hold on his penis and testicles, and was unaware of the serious injuries he'd caused her.
Details of the incident - and the victim's injuries - were aired in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday as Kent, a semi-professional rally car driver and qualified carpenter, made his third bid for bail.
Police will allege the couple were drinking with friends at a neighbour's house earlier in the evening before they returned home about 9pm after Kent made an inappropriate joke.
The pair began to argue and the alleged victim started packing her belongings.
Kent allegedly grabbed her by the throat with both hands, forced her onto the lounge and bit her on the right forearm, leaving red marks and a bruise.
Kent then grabbed the woman's phone and threw it on the ground before returning to the neighbour's house, police will allege.
He came home around midnight and the pair again started arguing. Kent allegedly grabbed the woman in a choke hold, causing them both to fall to the floor.
The woman said while dizzy and struggling to breathe, she panicked and bit Kent on the lower arm in a bid to get him to release her.
Kent allegedly retorted by bitting the woman's right ear, causing a part of it to detach, resulting in a vertical split towards the top of the ear.
The girlfriend told police she screamed out in pain and said "call an ambulance", prompting Kent to release her and leave the house.
Kent was arrest five hours later and charged with choking, recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and assault.
In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim refused to release Kent despite his not guilty pleas and suggestions he would have strong family support on bail.
"There still remains an unacceptable risk of [him] endangering the safety of the victim," he said.