A woman sentenced for destroying her neighbor's wisteria and repeatedly hitting her with a crutch breached her new restraining order before leaving the courtroom, a judge has warned. Atidel Boutara Cook was convicted of criminal damage after destroying the flowering plant belonging to her upstairs neighbor Pei Wong and assaulting her on December 17 last year.
Background of the Incident
Boutara Cook called her neighbor of 20 years a "f****** bitch" and hit her once on the forehead and twice on the chest with her crutch after being confronted about the plant, Highbury Magistrates' Court was told. Ms. Wong and her husband Louis Scott own the freehold of the Victorian house in Stanhope Gardens, Tottenham, north London, and live upstairs while Boutara Cook resides in the ground floor flat.
Continued Harassment
Boutara Cook has continued to "interfere" with the property, including "ongoing banging at night" that has affected Ms. Wong's sleep, according to the victim's impact statement summarized by the prosecution on Wednesday. Ms. Wong said she feels trapped in her home, intimidated, anxious, and emotionally exhausted, and has installed CCTV for security.
Court Sentencing
District Judge Denis Brennan told Boutara Cook that she has made the lives of Ms. Wong, her husband, and potentially their children a "misery." He ordered her to pay them £500 and issued a five-year restraining order banning her from contacting them. Judge Brennan asked Boutara Cook, who was self-represented, if she understood the penalty. She replied "absolutely, yep" before peering above the public gallery and making a kiss towards the couple, asking: "Happy?" As she walked towards the courtroom door, she called out: "I will send it to you in one go, so you can go on holiday."
The judge interjected: "I warn you Ms. Boutara Cook that that is immediately a breach of the restraining order." He said it will be decided later if police become involved.
Details of the Incident
Mr. Scott spotted Boutara Cook cutting down the wisteria and pulling out other plants as he returned home from work on the evening of December 17. She told Mr. Scott "f*** you, nasty people" when he approached, said prosecutor Mr. Groves. The architect couple rarely interacted with Boutara Cook but asked her to stop, the court heard previously.
Ms. Wong filmed the confrontation, showing the defendant standing outside the front door holding large garden shears. Her husband could be heard saying: "This is really horrible, you doing this." The phone was dropped, and screaming and shouting can be heard in the background, including repeated swearing.
Mr. Scott told the trial: "When she noticed my wife was filming her, she seemed to rather lose control of herself, started screaming abuse and waving her arms, she grabbed my wife's phone. She also then came up to my wife and struck her a number of times with her crutch."
Additional Penalties
Boutara Cook was also given a 12-month community order with 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. The restraining order makes it illegal for her to contact the couple directly or indirectly, including through their children. An exemption exists if the couple contacts her about building issues or she speaks to them through a solicitor.
Judge's Remarks
Judge Brennan said: "Living in accommodation, whether it's in London or anywhere, should be something that gives people safety, gives them a sense of wellbeing and a sense of which they can lead a happy and ordered life. Your behavior prior to and on December 17 – and if I understand matters correctly, since December 17 – has meant the lives of Mr. Scott and Ms. Wong, and I infer, their children, a life of misery. That is not fair, that is not appropriate."
