Epic eight-year neighbour feud sees one install ‘camera’ pointing at hot tub
An epic eight-year-long neighbour dispute has finally come to end after a battle that saw one party install a fake camera pointing at another’s hot tub. The long-runnig saga between the Serge and Sylvie Bujold and Umer Khan began after they moved in next to one another in Tooney Drive, Orleans, Ottawa, Canada in 2015.
Initially the neighbours were friendly, even sharing the cost of building a fence and landscaping a shared walkway, but relations were to soon turn sour. Mr Khan accused the Bujolds of ‘stealing’ stones which had been delivered for the walkway, the Bujolds then complained Mr Khan had allowed his dog to urinate on their property.
The Ottawa Citizen reports the bad blood escalated with the Bujolds contacting the authorities on several occasions accusing Mr Khan of threatening behaviour.
In turn he complained about a camera installed by the Bujolds which was pointing at his garden hot tub, the police later found the camera to be fake.
In all the wrangle between neighbours the paper reports sparked 12 bylaw complaints, two police conduct investigations, a peace bond application (similar to a restraining order), a criminal mischief charge and one lawsuit for defamation, harassment and the infliction of mental distress.
READ MORE: Chainsaw-wielding olive oil gangs chop down trees as 260,000l of fake oil seized
Now a judge has awarded Mr Khan more than £14,000 in ‘general damages’ after an eight-day civil case.
Mr Khan, an Ottawa police officer, had been suffereing from PTSD and anxiety since 2005 after a suspect pointed a gun at his head and pulled the trigger. The weapon didn’t fire because their were five bullets in the chamber of six spaces.
The court heard Mr Khan thought the Bujolds were deliberately trying to irritate him by installing a camera, but they testified the fake camera was a response to real security cameras installed by Mr Khan.
A court also heard the Bujolds began videotaping Mr Khan.
Don’t miss…
Electric car catches fire after man tries to ‘warm up’ battery with a toaster[LATEST]
‘So what if they go bust?’ BBC faces furious calls for TV licence to be scrapped[LATEST]
‘Axis of evil’ Iran and Russia ‘team up’ vowing to launch ‘extensive agenda'[LATEST]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
In a decision released last month the Ottawa Citizen reports Justice Sally Gomery awarded Khan more than £14,000.
During her summing up Jutice Gomery said that the Bjolds had filmed Khan in a “deliberate campaign of surveillance” calculated to harm him.
She concluded: “Living in close proximity to someone you dislike or distrust is inherently stressful.
“There are, however, some lines that should not be crossed. They were crossed here, when the Bujolds engaged in active surveillance of Khan, in a way calculated to heighten his feelings of paranoia and persecution.”
According to the publication the Bujolds have now sold their property.
Source: Read Full Article
