Mossman detectives yesterday charged a 40-year-old Cow Bay man with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Police allege the man punched a 26-year-old woman in the head multiple times at about 4.30pm on Thursday, January 23 in the carpark of a hotel in Cow Bay in the Daintree. 

It’s alleged the man followed the woman in a vehicle along the Cape Tribulation Road toward the hotel before verbally abusing her and punching her. The pair were not known to each other. 

Witnesses intervened before the woman contacted police and sought medical treatment for a swollen eye, bruising and scratches.

The man is scheduled to appear in the Cairns Magistrates Court on 14 February.