VICTORIA -- A Vancouver Island man, who held a woman against her will and brutally beat her on his rural property in 2017, pleaded guilty Monday and will serve just over a year in jail.

Kehar Garry Sangha, 54, pleaded guilty to the crimes of aggravated assault and forceful confinement in Duncan provincial court. The North Cowichan man was served a five-year, 91 day sentence but with previous time served, he is expected to be released in 416 days as of Jan. 6.

In an agreed submission of facts laid out by the Crown, Sangha admitted to holding the victim, who was a tenant of his North Cowichan property, captive and beating the woman before she managed to escape from the home on her second attempt in April 2017.

On Monday, the court heard that the victim was tied to a chair with belts, wires and handcuffs before breaking free of her restraints and fleeing Sangha's home. On this first escape attempt, witnesses at a neighbouring property said that they saw the woman running through a field on the property before being recaptured by Sangha in a pickup truck.

The next day, the victim convinced Sangha to allow her to return to her suite to rest, which she then used as an opportunity to make a second attempt to escape. On the second attempt, the woman was able to flag down a local glass company contractor, who then picked her up in his work vehicle and helped her contact 911.

Following the harrowing incident, the woman was treated in hospital for a number of injuries including a fractured cheekbone, lacerations across her body, bruises and cuts on her wrists from where the handcuffs were placed. The victim spent approximately two weeks in hospital for treatment, which included the placement of a metal plate in her face as a result of the fractured cheekbone.

The court also heard on Monday that since the woman's imprisonment, she has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and some loss of feeling in her hands.

Following the woman's escape, police searched Sangha's property and vehicle and found a bag of ropes, wires, handcuffs and the victim’s identification. Police also found DNA matches and traces of the woman's blood inside his truck.

Sangha was then arrested in 2017, and has been held in custody ever since.

In court, the defence said that Sangha was remorseful for what he had done and that his actions were a result of a drug-fuelled episode.

“I’m very ashamed of my behaviour and the damage that this has done to my family and I am very sorry for my actions,” said Sangha on Monday.

The defence said that Sangha has been sober for the two years that he has been in custody.

After all submissions were complete, the North Cowichan man was served his sentence and additional conditions which include probation for two years and no possession of weapons and no contact with the victim.

After sentencing was delivered, a friend of the victim called the outcome a failure of the justice system.

“He gets five years in jail and gets to take courses and make it sound like he’s improved his life and what does she have?” said the friend, Greg.

“She has to live in pain for the rest of her life, live in fear for the rest of her life, she has to deal with brain damage, neurological damage, she has to live with trauma for the rest of her life,” said Greg. “How would anybody survive that or be able to deal with that on a regular basis trying to live a normal life? I just can’t believe it, it’s a big disappointment.”