UPDATE: Australian designer, Wayne Cooper, has been found guilty of assaulting his de facto wife, and sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond.
The British-born designer pleaded guilty to common assault in a Sydney court last week. The incident took place in June this year, when Cooper struck out at his partner Sarah Marsh, just days after she had undergone surgery for gall bladder cancer.
"It's important that the message goes out to the community that it's not acceptable to behave like this, no matter who you are," said police prosecutor Sergeant Leesa McEvoy.
Cooper's barrister asked the court not to record a conviction as it may hinder his travel to the United States as required by his fashion business, but magistrate Michael Dakin said it was too serious a matter for a conviction not to be recorded.
