25-year-old ex-wife.

The man last week pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to causing grievous bodily harm to his then wife between July 1 and 31 1994, and assaulting her on September 25, 1994 and on December 27, 1994.

The court heard last week that he struck his wife in her vagina with a soda bottle while she was laying in bed. As a result of the July 1994 attack his wife had to spend four days in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for a blood clot in her vagina area.

(Because of legal restrictions, The Royal Gazette cannot name the accused because by naming him his ex-wife will also be identified.) In the second incident -- on September 25, 1994 -- he stopped his estranged wife while she was in her car, punched her in the face, then pulled on her hair and hit her on her head.

Then on December 27, 1994, he grabbed her from behind around her neck and punched her in the face. Police prosecutor Insp. Peter Duffy yesterday told Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis the July incident was "a cowardly attack on a sleeping woman''.

Insp. Duffy added that a message had to be sent to the community that women must be protected.

He also noted that "three assaults in six months is three too many''.

Lawyer Mr. Mark Pettingill said his client was "a person of reasonably good character who has been involved in acts of violence with his wife''. Mr.

Pettingill also said there was "extracurricular activities'' going on in the marriage by the man's ex-wife which were a concern to the accused and caused tempers to flare.

He added that the July incident "was a rash act in the heat of the moment''.

But, he noted, the accused never intended to injure his ex-wife.

He also pointed out that defendant had "the potential to get things in order and get on with his life''.

Before sentencing him, Mr. Francis told the accused: "This was a period in which your wife was made to go through quite a trauma''.

For the "most serious'' incident in July 1994, which Mr. Francis described as a "vicious attack on a woman'', he sentenced the accused to prison for a year.

Mr. Francis also sentenced the man to four months in prison for the September 1994 incident and six months for the December 1994 episode.

All the sentences are to run concurrently with the time the accused has spent in custody to be taken into account.