Zambian man Benson Mwanjeleka, 34, of Chongwe who bit his wife’s nipple in his sleep, might have a sleeping disorder known as parasomnias, which might involve teeth grinding or jaw chewing, a psychotherapist has said.

Benjamin Samusiko said there is a possibility that Mr Mwanjeleka has a sleeping disorder because the incident happened when he was in his sleep.

Police on June 1 said that Mr Mwanjeleka, of Mwachifumu village of Chief Bunda Bunda was arrested and charged with the offence of grievous bodily harm.

The incident occurred on May 31 around 22:30 hours when the victim, Christine Galufu, 33, and Mr Mwanjeleka were sleeping.

It is alleged that Mr Mwanjeleka woke up and bit the victim’s nipple and claimed he was dreaming.

Mr Simusiko said the possible explanation to the incident might be a sleeping disorder known as parasomnias. “From the sleeping disorders that I know, it’s possibly what we call parasomnias.

In parasomnias usually there is sleep walking, talking and teeth grinding or jaw chewing,” he said.

Mr Simusiko said this in an interview with Sunday Mail on Thursday.

He said in teeth grinding or jaw chewing a person grinds their own teeth while in sleep.

Mr Simusiko said it is, however, difficult to prove or disprove if the action was intentional or unintentional unless a diagnosis is done. “We cannot pinpoint that he has a sleeping disorder, what if he had a marital dispute with the wife and took an advantage of her sleep to inflict pain on her. “There is a lot of context to the issue.

Mr Mwanjeleka needs to be assessed or undergo a medical diagnosis for us to ascertain that he has a sleeping disorder or not,” he said.

He said there is also need to find out if the man drinks or is violent.