HOUSTON:  A 46-year-old Indian-origin man in the US who stabbed his ‘overweight’ wife twice in the abdomen has been spared a prison sentence because the judge agreed that his family would face “ostracism” as part of their Hindu culture.

Navinkumar Patel, 46, of Shawnee, Kansas City, was arrested in late June 2015 after he stabbed his wife in the abdomen at Lawrence’s Super 8 Motel, 515 McDonald Drive, which he owns. He pleaded no contest to felony charges of attempted second-degree murder and criminal threat in March.

The cultural considerations weighed into his sentencing decision for Patel, Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild was quoted as saying by the local newspaper LJWorld.

Patel’s attorney John Kerns called the case “unusual to say the least”.

Kerns, told the judge that in the Hindu culture of Patel’s family, his wife and children would suffer if he were sentenced to prison. They would essentially be “ostracised,” he said.

“The cultural part of it is very significant in this case,” Judge Fairchild said. He sentenced Patel to probation but will not announce the terms until next month.

In court, the doctor who evaluated him, Bradley Grinage, testified that Patel suffers from bipolar disorder, an illness that was exacerbated by alcohol addiction.