MOTHER AND DAUGHTER JAILED FOR CAMPAIGN OF HARASSMENT AGAINST NEIGHBOURS
A former Chinese intelligence officer and her solicitor daughter have been sentenced to prison after a campaign of harassment against neighbours that lasted several months.Susan Chen, 61, and her 35-year-old daughter Linda Lu were convicted of causing substantial distress to James and Lynn Smith in Bassingham, close to Lincoln.
The issues began in July 2023 when Mr Smith attempted to trim the hedge between their properties.
Over the next two months, Mrs Smith recorded videos showing Chen and Lu yelling insults, including calling the Smiths "retards." Additionally, the recordings showed loud metallic banging from a paint can, loud music including a looping recording of The Laughing Policeman from the 1920s and a beam of light from a torch directed at the Smiths' home.
The women used a mobile phone with a camera system and binoculars to spy on the family outside.
Mr Smith collected around 200 audio and video recordings documenting their harassment.
Despite community safeguards, the women disregarded notices designed to prevent such conduct.
The court heard that the Smith family, which included two young children, grew increasingly anxious; Mrs Smith suffered from insomnia, was diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety, and frequently checked her doors.
Their eldest child was hesitant to sleep alone, and both children felt uneasy in their garden.
Judge James House KC characterised the case as one of the most severe in his experience, highlighting the persistent and calculated nature of the harassment.
He described the verbal abuse as vile and confirmed the family was terrorised.
Chen and Lu represented themselves during the five-week trial, claiming they were the victims.
However, a jury convicted them of stalking in under two hours.
Court records showed that Lu had no prior convictions, whereas Chen had a previous conviction from 2020 for assaulting an elderly couple.
Chen stated she served in the Chinese Army for 14 years and reached the rank of Major.
Both women received prison sentences of five and a half years.
PC Jordan Bathie-Drexler from Lincolnshire Police stated that the harassment was relentless, occurring around the clock over three months, with all intervention efforts ignored as the suspects aimed to torment the victims fully.
