A woman who attacked her neighbour with a crutch after destroying a wisteria plant breached a restraining order before leaving court. Atidel Boutara Cook, 49, was sentenced at Highbury Magistrates’ Court for criminal damage and assault following the incident on December 17 in north London.
The court heard Boutara Cook destroyed the wisteria belonging to her upstairs neighbour, Pei Wong, before hitting her once on the forehead and twice on the chest with her crutch. Ms Wong and her husband Louis Scott own the freehold of the Victorian house in Stanhope Gardens, Tottenham, and live upstairs while Boutara Cook occupies the ground floor flat.
District Judge Denis Brennan issued a five-year restraining order banning Boutara Cook from contacting the couple. However, as she left the courtroom, she made a kissing gesture towards them and said: “I will send it to you in one go, so you can go on holiday.” The judge immediately warned her that this constituted a breach of the order.
Ms Wong said in her victim impact statement that Boutara Cook has continued to “interfere” with the property, including “ongoing banging at night” that has affected her sleep. She said she feels trapped in her home, intimidated, anxious and emotionally exhausted, and has installed CCTV.
Judge Brennan told Boutara Cook she had made the lives of Ms Wong, her husband and their children a “misery”. He ordered her to pay £500 and imposed a 12-month community order with 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. The restraining order prohibits any direct or indirect contact, including through the couple’s children, with an exemption for building issues or communication via a solicitor.
