The Hsinchu District Court has ruled in favor of a property owner who sued his neighbor over surveillance cameras, loud music, cooking odors and other disturbances.
The plaintiff, a man surnamed Chen (陳), said that his neighbor, a man surnamed Chang (張), had disrupted his daily life by pointing surveillance cameras at the rear of Chen’s house, burning incense for long periods of time, playing loud religious music and cooking with noisy fans that blew exhaust fumes toward his home.
Chen said that Chang often hung incense burners either above the shared section between their properties or outside his rear windows, allowing the smoke to spread into Chen’s backyard, which he claimed harmed his family’s respiratory health.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
In addition to the loud music, Chang allegedly allowed his dogs to bark day and night, disturbing Chen’s family, Chen said.
The cameras pointed at his property meant that his family could not freely use their back yard, he added.
Chang allegedly installed a kitchen exhaust pipe behind his home, which polluted Chen’s backyard and soiled his floors, Chen said.
The noisy fan emitted unpleasant odors, including dog smells and bathroom odors, which wafted onto his property, he said.
Chang told the court that the cameras, incense burners and exhaust fan had been removed and that there were no longer noises from dogs, music or fans coming from his property, court documents showed.
However, prosecutors said that an investigation had found that Chang had reinstalled the fan, and that disturbances from barking and loud music continued, they said.
The judge ruled that Chang is prohibited from installing surveillance cameras at the rear of his house; hanging incense burners or similar containers over shared land or outside windows in a way that allows smoke to enter Chen’s property; allowing dogs to bark in a way that bothers Chen’s family in their home; playing loud music; and, using a kitchen fan that allows noise and odors to affect Chen’s family in their home.
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