‘Chinese spy’ who flipped in row over HEDGE & terrorised Brit neighbours by blasting out creepy song on repeat is jailed
A SELF-proclaimed spy who terrorised her neighbours in a row over a hedge by playing a creepy song on repeat has been jailed.
Susan Chen, who claims to have been a Chinese intelligence officer for 14 years, became a nightmare neighbour when a well-meaning family trimmed her hedge.
The furious neighbour began playing the Laughing Policeman's creepy laugh 24 hours a day and knocked on doors in the middle of the night.
She also set up cameras to spy on the entire street, shone torches through windows and rattled paint tins filled with stones around her home in Bassingham, Lincolnshire.
Chen was remanded in custody with her daughter Linda Lu, 35, after they were convicted of causing serious alarm or distress to their neighbours in October earlier this year.
The pair appeared at Lincoln Crown Court today, where they were jailed for five and a half years each.
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A trial earlier heard how James Smith had attempted to trim the front hedge separating his property from the one rented by Chen.
But after 30 seconds, she objected and threatened legal action against him and wife Lynn, who live with their two young kids.
Videos recorded by James, which were played in court, showed Chen and Lu "shouting derogatory abuse".
He submitted around 200 audio and video recordings to police, while Chen and Lu ignored community protection notices which were served on them.
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The two-month campaign of abuse included "periods of loud metallic banging" from a paint can and the repeated playing of the "Laughing Policeman."
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Lynn Smith said her life has changed dramatically since the row broke out last year.
The mum-of-two said she now suffers from insomnia and has been diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety.
Lynn also still finds herself checking if doors are locked several times a day and uses her garden less.
In his statement, James described how the family's 13-year stay in a village they loved had been shattered by the arrival of Chen and Lou.
He revealed how his family the harassment was calculated and continued on an almost daily basis.
Passing sentence Judge James House KC, said it was one of the most serious cases of its kind to come before the court.
He added: "James and Lynn Smith had both been teachers for many years.
"They had chosen Bassingham because it was and is a lovely village to live."
The judge continued: "In short the defendants terrorised the Smith family. It amounted to a complete persecution of them."
"Their general sense of safety in their own home has been shaken to the core."
It comes after one local told The Sun: "You get neighbour rows over hedges - but not usually when one is a Chinese spy.
“The Smiths were just trying to be neighbourly, they always looked after the hedge and most people would be grateful.
“But Chen just went crazy - and started using military tactics against them. It was unbelievable.
“She put the whole street under surveillance so she knew what all their ‘moves’ were. Any training she had must have kicked-in.
“They had cameras set-up but would also manually spy on everyone.
“If there was anyone out for a walk they would watch them all the way past their house.
“Then there was the harassment of all their neighbours - it was psychological warfare against everyone."
Speaking after the trial, PC Jordan Bathie-Drexler, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "Nobody should fear sitting in their own garden, walking their children to school, or worry about barrages of abuse on a regular basis, simply because their neighbours have developed an unhealthy obsession with them.
"Stalking has such a negative impact on a victim’s life; it consumes them, takes over their feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and safety, and leaves them vulnerable.
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"I want to take a moment to praise the victims in this case, who have conducted themselves with absolute dignity in the face of a very difficult case.
"The guilty verdict is a welcome one, and we hope that the victims in this case can now find a way to move forward."
