"Too Noisy" Neighbor Woman Assaulted Over Noise Dispute, Brain Hemorrhage... Two People in Their 20s Sentenced

Incheon District Court Sentences 4 Months and 2 Months Imprisonment Respectively

Two men in their 20s were sentenced to prison for assaulting a female neighbor and causing serious injuries after a dispute over noise in the hallway of an officetel.

According to the legal community on the 6th, Judge Yoon Jeong of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 18 sentenced A (26) to 4 months in prison and B (26) to 2 months in prison for joint injury under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts. A and B were prosecuted for assaulting C, a woman in her 30s living next door, in the hallway of an officetel in Jung-gu, Incheon, at around 1:44 a.m. on September 1, 2022.

At the time, A and B asked C, who was throwing delivery packages against the wall in the officetel hallway, to be quiet, but after being kicked, they became enraged and committed the assault. C was punched in the face eight times by the men, hit her head against the wall, and was diagnosed with a six-week recovery period due to a cerebral hemorrhage and received treatment at the hospital.

Judge Yoon stated, "The victim appears to have suffered physical and psychological pain from this incident," and added, "They have not reached a settlement." Regarding the sentencing, the judge explained, "However, the defendants seem to be reflecting on their wrongdoing, and consideration was given to the fact that they have no prior criminal records."

'Noise Dispute' Assault and Threat Defendants Sentenced to Prison One After Another

Recently, defendants involved in assault and threats due to noise disputes between neighbors have been consecutively sentenced to prison.

On the 27th of last month, Judge Shin Heung-ho of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 6 sentenced D (38) to 4 months in prison for injury. D was prosecuted for punching a neighbor in his 40s in the face at a multi-family housing complex in Namdong-gu, Incheon, at around 12:25 a.m. on August 4, 2022, causing injury. The assault victim suffered bruises around the eyes and was diagnosed with a three-week recovery period at the hospital. It was revealed that about ten days before the incident, D harbored resentment after a neighbor complained about reducing noise between floors and visited the neighbor’s house intoxicated on the day of the assault. As a result, the victim reportedly ended up moving out.

On the 19th of last month, a man in his 30s who threatened a neighbor with a weapon, saying "I will dismember and kill you" after the neighbor came to his house to complain about noise between floors, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation for special threats. This man was prosecuted for threatening a woman in her 20s living next door with a weapon at a multi-family housing complex in Seo-gu, Incheon, at around 5:52 p.m. on April 2. The court explained the sentencing by stating, "The defendant committed the crime impulsively and admitted to the crime during the prosecution investigation while showing remorse," and "considered that the defendant moved to another area after the incident and that this was his first offense."