40s Sentenced to Prison for Threatening Neighbor by Placing Cutting Board and Kitchen Knife at Door over 'Noise Complaints'

8 Months Imprisonment, "Criminal Method Malicious... Crime Committed Even During Trial"

On the 19th, the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 11 announced that it sentenced a man in his 40s, Mr. A, to 8 months in prison for threatening neighboring residents with a weapon due to noise between floors.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] A man in his 40s who threatened his neighbors with a weapon over complaints about noise between floors was sentenced to prison.

The Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Jeong Eui-jeong) announced on the 19th that it sentenced A (43), who was indicted on charges of special intimidation and special trespassing, to 8 months in prison in the first trial.

A was charged with threatening B (a teenager) by placing a weapon in front of the door at an apartment in Damyang, Jeollanam-do, where he lived, around 11:39 p.m. on February 21 of last year.

At the time, when B opened the door, A stared silently. When B, startled, closed the door again, A placed a cutting board and kitchen knife in front of the door.

A was also charged with threatening C (44, female) with a weapon in the elevator of the same apartment around 1:06 p.m. on July 6 of the same year.

After C saw the weapon and ran home, A chased her, continuously knocking on the door and attempting to break in. When C’s family intervened, A scratched the floor of the hallway in front of C’s main door with the weapon.

Investigations revealed that A committed these acts because he believed the neighbors were causing noise between floors.

The court stated, "The method of the crime is very malicious as the defendant misunderstood that the neighbors were causing noise and went to threaten the victims with a weapon. Considering that the defendant continued to commit crimes even during the trial, a prison sentence is inevitable."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning by saying, "The defendant generally admitted to the crimes and showed remorse, and considering comprehensively that the defendant suffers from alcohol dependence and other mental illnesses that likely influenced the crimes."