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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS