A woman who threw boiling water over a neighbour during an argument has been jailed for 16 months.
Tilly Scott, 54, of Clipper Road, Nowra, was ordered to serve a minimum of eight months before being eligible for parole when she face Nowra Local Court on Wednesday, October 18.
She had earlier pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on the day the case was to go to trial.
The court was told Scott and a neighbour were arguing on July 9, 2022, and the argument reignited the following day.
At the time Scott was boiling a pot of water to make a drink, and threw the water over her neighbour - scalding the left side of her face, her upper arm and midrift.
Scott's lawyer, Hannah Dreher, told the court the water was thrown as an impulsive action, as Scott had the pot in her hand at the time.
Ms Dreher said Scott's response was not an unprovoked attack, and was "essentially a case of self defence".
Scott told the court the neighbour "lunged at me", and went so far as to claim the neighbour deliberately burnt herself while waiting for police to arrive.
Magistrate Lisa Viney said the attack was "a very serious example of assault occasioning", and protecting community safety meant she had no choice but to jail Scott.
She also put an apprehended violence order in place, protecting the neighbour for the next three years.
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