Ammon News - The Grand Criminal Court (GCC) on Tuesday handed down a life sentence to a man who gouged his wife's eyes in a 2019 attempted murder that sparked a wide public uproar, according to court documents obtained by the Jordan News Agency (Petra).

In the incident in Jerash, the convict premeditated the "unsuccessful" murder of his wife over a family dispute as he tried to stab her in the neck and chest with a knife with the intent to kill her, but she fought back and shoved him away, according to a transcript of the verdict.

While the victim screamed for help, her three children rushed the room as the attack was underway, and managed to subdue their father and grab the knife from him. However, the determined husband carried on and gouged the wife's eyes using a hookah tongs and she fell to the ground unconscious.

By that time, according the transcript, the man thought his wife had died and fled the scene, and told a neighbor about his action before he was later arrested by police.

The sentence is the maximum for such crimes, but still, it will need to be reviewed and upheld by the Court of Cassation.