Ex-Army officer jailed for contacting former partner on bail

A former British Army officer who tried to convince his ex-partner to withdraw allegations against him has been locked up at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Kyle Whittaker, 29, from Longford Terrace in Holyhead, received a seven-week sentence for perverting the course of public justice after he breached bail conditions by contacting Catherine Chong-Kwan.

The court heard the pair had been together for two years before their relationship ended. While Ms Chong-Kwan was on holiday last July, Whittaker took a T-shirt from her home without permission. Police were called and he was interviewed under caution.

Released on bail with strict conditions barring any contact with his former partner, Whittaker sent her a WhatsApp message just four days later asking her to drop the case. Ms Chong-Kwan felt “guilty” and was “worried he might harm himself” due to his mental health struggles, prosecutor Elen Owen told the court.

After she returned from holiday, Ms Chong-Kwan agreed to drive Whittaker to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for a mental health assessment. However, he had a “breakdown” during the journey and she turned back.

The situation escalated the following day when Whittaker spotted Ms Chong-Kwan with her long-term friend Caine Jones-Williams. He drove up with tyres “screeching”, jumped out and grabbed his ex-partner, shoving her against a wall. The assault left her with a facial injury and one of her fingernails was torn off, leaving it covered in blood. He also pushed Mr Jones-Williams.

In her victim statement, Ms Chong-Kwan said Whittaker “made her life a misery” and she no longer felt safe around him.

Defence barrister Ember Wong told the court it was “undisputed” that Whittaker struggled with the breakup. She described the WhatsApp contact as “short-lived” with “no suggestion of any threats or other aggravating features”. The father of two, who served 12 years in the British Army and is currently taking anti-depressants, received positive references including one from a prison officer.

Judge Nicola Jones handed Whittaker concurrent four-week jail terms for each assault charge, to run alongside his seven-week sentence for perverting justice. He was also made subject to a two-year Domestic Abuse Protection Order preventing him from contacting Ms Chong-Kwan.