The Bhutanese Leading the way.
On 13th April this year, the Thimphu Dzongkhag Court, Family Bench, sentenced 55-year-old Leki Dorji to 2 years, 11 months, and 29 days in prison after finding him guilty of domestic violence resulting in grievous injury to his 23-year-old girlfriend, Lhamo.
According to the court’s verdict, Leki Dorji may opt to pay Nu 131,500 instead of serving the imposed custodial sentence.
The offence carries a sentencing range of one to three years’ imprisonment.
However, both the victim and her family say the sentence does not reflect the severity of the harm caused.
Lhamo stated that she is not satisfied with the sentence, noting that the option to pay a monetary fine allows the accused to avoid imprisonment. She further expressed that even if the custodial sentence is served, a term of approximately two years does not, in her view, justify the lifelong injuries she has sustained.
According to a medical report from the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH), Lhamo sustained a cervicothoracic (C-T) fracture dislocation with complete paraplegia. Clinical findings further indicate that she has lost movement in both lower limbs and has no control over bladder and bowel functions.
She is currently wheelchair-bound with permanent loss of lower limb function and bodily control.
Case background
According to the victim’s statement submitted to the court, Lhamo stated that an argument broke out last year between her and her boyfriend, Leki Dorji, at her residence. During the altercation, she alleged that Leki Dorji pulled her leg, causing her to fall in a manner where her head bent under her body.
“He pulled my leg, after which my head was bent under my body, and I then lost consciousness,” she stated.
In her statement, Lhamo further alleged that Leki Dorji instructed her not to disclose the true circumstances of the incident to her family, and instead tell doctors and her siblings that she had fallen.
Lhamo also informed this paper that this was not the first instance of domestic violence. She stated that during the course of their relationship, she was unaware that Leki Dorji was not divorced.
“After I came to know that he is not divorced, I planned to separate from him,” she said.
She further alleged that despite securing a two-year work visa for Kuwait, she was threatened by Leki Dorji. “He told me that he would find me wherever I go and harm me,” she said.
A report from the PEMA Secretariat verifies a pattern of abuse, indicating that Lhamo experienced repeated emotional and physical violence during their two-year relationship.
In his statement to the court, Leki Dorji acknowledged that a physical altercation had occurred but provided a different account of events. He stated that the dispute arose after a man repeatedly video-called Lhamo, which she allegedly ended and deleted, leading to suspicion.
According to his statement to the court, while attempting to snatch her phone to verify the caller, the situation escalated into a physical confrontation. “When she was about to kick me again, I held her leg, and she fell,” he stated. He added that Lhamo subsequently complained of hearing a “crack” and asked to be taken to the hospital.
The statement further indicates that Leki Dorji contacted his son, who then arranged for an ambulance to transport Lhamo to the hospital.
Leki Dorji also stated that he advised Lhamo to inform her family upon reaching the hospital; however, she allegedly refused.
Lhamo, however, refuted his claims, stating that his version of events was untrue. “He even claimed that I agreed to the relationship knowing that he has a wife, which is not true,” she said.
According to the medical report from JDWNRH, the patient’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) indicates that emergency spinal surgery was performed.
The report states that the patient sustained a cervicothoracic (C–T) fracture dislocation with complete paraplegia. “It is not possible to say that the patient will recover,” the report notes, indicating severe damage to the cervical spinal cord.
Further clinical findings reveal that Lhamo has lost movement in both lower limbs and has no control over bladder and bowel functions. The report states that she is currently wheelchair-bound with permanent loss of lower limb function and bodily control.
The victim and her brother express dissatisfaction with the sentencing
Lhamo stated that she is not satisfied with the sentence imposed for the offence of domestic violence, noting that the option to pay a monetary fine allows the accused to avoid imprisonment. She further expressed that even if the custodial sentence is served, a term of approximately two years does not, in her view, reflect the severity of the lifelong injuries she has sustained.
Lhamo further alleged that while she was undergoing treatment at the hospital, she and her family were pressured to withdraw the case. “While I was in the hospital, we were pressured to withdraw the case. We were told that they have a strong background and connections with influential people, and that pursuing the case would be very difficult and time-consuming for us,” she said.
Lhamo’s elder brother also expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, stating that it does not reflect the gravity of the harm inflicted on his sister. He said that she is now partially paralysed due to the spinal injury. “The doctors have informed us that she will not recover, and the damage is lifelong,” he said.
He further stated that his sister initially refused to disclose the true circumstances of the incident while at the hospital, instead claiming that she had fallen and sustained the injury.
In his statement, he said he suspected that the injuries could not have resulted from a single fall and urged his sister to tell him the truth. He added that he warned her that he would seek guidance from an astrologer in Punakha if she did not disclose what had happened, following which she revealed the truth.
He also stated that Leki Dorji remained at the hospital during this period, allegedly out of concern that she might disclose the incident while she was partially conscious. “He feared that my sister would tell the truth, as she was partially conscious,” he said.
The brother further shared that he was unaware of the relationship between his sister and Leki Dorji. He said that he initially felt grateful to Leki Dorji for taking his sister to the hospital. “However, after I came to know the truth, I reported the matter to the police,” he said.
Her brother has stated that he intends to appeal the verdict at the High Court. “I have been told that this is the highest sentence that can be imposed for this offence, but the sentence does not reflect justice for what Leki Dorji has done to my sister,” he said.
