CALEDONIA – The Racine County District Attorney’s Office charged a Milwaukee man with disorderly conduct-use of a dangerous weapon after allegedly threatening his wife with a 2-foot knife used for harvesting crops here Wednesday morning.
Benson Wong, 58, was being held in the Racine County Jail as of Thursday afternoon. If convicted of a Class B misdemeanor, he could face a fine of up to $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail. Because the charges involve use of a dangerous weapon and related to domestic abuse, additional fines and jail time may be imposed.
According to the criminal complaint, Caledonia Police were called to a farm field in the 8700 block of Highway H about 11 a.m. Wednesday on a report of a man trying to stab his wife. Upon arrival, Wong’s daughter told them that Wong had become upset with his wife (and her mother), identified as MM over when the couple would go to a farmer’s market to sell their crops. The daughter stated that Wong grabbed a large “Hmong knife with a wooden handle” and ran toward MM, swinging it at her. Wong’s daughter stepped in front of MM while telling Wong to stop. No one was injured.
Wong’s daughter told police that Wong “had been abusive toward her mother as long as she could remember and that was normal in her culture (Hmong) for men to abuse their wives and have no repercussions,” the complaint stated.
MM confirmed to police that Wong had “anger problems” but declined to answer questions about whether she was threatened or fearful for her safety. Wong told police that he and his had been arguing about going to the farmer’s market while they were harvesting crops. He denied using the knife towards his wife and later admitted that he was “just trying to scare her,” according to the complaint. Police recovered a 2-foot knife with an 18-inch blade.