A psychiatric patient who admitted punching a family member in the face has been released on two years probation.Gerome Thomas, 36, broke Sean Thomas’ nose while the pair were drinking at a family gathering in Warwick on December 23 last year.The complainant suffered a broken nose and an injury to his right eye in the incident.In March, Thomas pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to causing grievous bodily harm. At that time, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner ordered a series of reports after hearing the defendant was an outpatient at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI), but had not been taking his medication consistently.In court, both Crown counsel Geoffrey Faiella and lawyer Marc Daniels, representing Thomas, agreed that a period of probation with conditions would be the appropriate sentence, noting his mental health issues and his lack of previous convictions.Mr Daniels said that Thomas is close to his mother, and felt that the complainant had insulted her, causing him to lash out.“Thomas is of good nature, but he needs to be adhering to the conditions he has,” Mr Daniels said. “I believe probation might help him keep with his treatment.”Mr Warner said the offence Thomas committed is a serious one, and sentencing the defendant to two years’ probation, warning him that as a condition of bail he must submit to any treatment recommended by MWI.