SEOUL — A Incheon man will serve 22 years in prison for the attempted murder of three members of a neighbouring family over noise complaints, after he dropped his appeal, according to legal professionals and news reports Thursday.
The Incheon District Court ordered the man to serve 22 years in prison and to wear a GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklet for 10 years in the first trial in May. The ruling was confirmed as he withdrew the appeal, he filed with the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Only identified by his surname Lee, the man was indicted on charges of attempting to murder his neighbours in December 2021.
On Nov. 15, 2021, the man in his 50s allegedly burst into the neighbour’s house on the third floor of a residential building in Incheon, west of Seoul, and jabbed the family members.
The mother, in her 40s at the time, was stabbed in the neck and received surgery for a cerebral infarction. The husband and daughter also suffered severe injuries that took five weeks to heal.
The 50-year-old attacker lived on the fourth floor of the apartment complex and had complained to the family about noise since moving into the house three months earlier.
During court hearings, he admitted trying to murder the mother but denied trying to kill the father and daughter. The court dismissed his arguments and convicted the man of trying to kill all three family members.
Police were criticized for their response to the knife attack. Officers were dispatched to the scene when a disturbance was reported, but when one officer took the husband to talk to him outside, the man began the knife attack, and the other officer fled.
After the incident caused controversy over the police’s bungled action, the two officers were dismissed. The two have filed an appeal after being dismissed from duty. They were also indicted without detention last month for dereliction of duty.
Activists say their efforts to quiet India’s financial capital can show the way for other loud places.
Living in Mumbai requires an inexhaustible tolerance for noise. There’s the ceaseless revving of autorickshaw engines and the clamor of car horns as drivers edge through impenetrable traffic. There’s pounding and buzzing from the construction of office towers, apartment buildings and a new metro line. Drumbeats and trumpet melodies spill out from wedding celebrations and countless festivals. And it’s all topped off by bellowing street vendors and garbage trucks blasting Bollywood songs.
So when Sumaira Abdulali began campaigning against noise pollution in India’s financial capital two decades ago, friends, acquaintances and even her attorneys insisted it was a fool’s errand. “People told me it’s ridiculous to even try, because Indians love noise,” she says. “We’re a noisy country.”
But in 2003, Abdulali won a public-interest lawsuit seeking to roll back changes to environmental regulations that had allowed blaring music late into the night during the Navratri festival each autumn. The ruling led to a blanket ban on loudspeakers within one hundred meters (328 feet) of schools, hospitals, courts, and places of worship. And she has since won more than a dozen other actions both on her own and via the Awaaz Foundation (awaaz means “noise” in Hindi), which she launched in 2006.
The World Health Organization warns that noise pollution is a top environmental threat to human wellness, affecting not only hearing but also sleep, brain development and cardiovascular health. With increasing urbanization, ever more people around the world are exposed to unrelenting noise. And Mumbai may be the epicentre of this emerging global crisis.
Abdulali claims the city is the world’s loudest, though that’s a tough statistic to nail down. A study by India’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in 2020 did find that noise levels in Mumbai and surrounding areas dramatically exceed legal limits. “Air pollution we can see, water pollution we can see, but noise pollution we can only feel and sense,” says Ritesh Vijay, the lead author of the report. “It is a slow poison.”
The battle against noise has become increasingly fraught in recent years, with Abdulali often confronting powerful interests who consider it an inevitable byproduct of economic growth. In a rapidly expanding city such as Mumbai, with a population topping 12 million, demand for new housing puts noise legislation in direct conflict with development plans.
Penelope Tong knows that firsthand. She awoke one morning two years ago to ceaseless thrumming from a construction project next to her apartment at the city’s crowded southern tip. “It was extremely disturbing,” says the Mumbai native, who works as a teacher. “Every time that noise started, I would feel so agitated.”
Tong had heard about Awaaz from her mother, so she rang Abdulali for advice. Abdulali helped her contact police, file legal complaints and document noise of almost 100 decibels—which can harm human hearing over a prolonged period. Although sound barriers are required for construction projects, they’re expensive, so developers resist installing them. But after four months, the contractor on the project near Tong’s flat reluctantly installed a temporary fence to absorb noise.
Traffic is a more difficult problem. The loudest place Awaaz has found in the city is the JJ Flyover, an elevated highway leading to the main railway station. Noise on the road reached 110 decibels—a level that can lead to permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2011, Mumbai installed a 2-mile-long fence along a similar stretch of highway, and Awaaz found that it cut noise in a nearby residential area by 16 decibels. That spurred the city to require barriers for new overpasses, though the rules don’t affect older ones such as the JJ Flyover.
Technology can also help in the fight, Vijay says. “The worst part—it’s the honking,” he says. He suggests devices in vehicles that measure horn use, which would let officials offer quieter drivers’ incentives such as deductions on car insurance. Dynamic signalling, where sensors linked to stop lights detect traffic density, would improve the flow of vehicles, and reduce the urge for drivers to resort to their horns, he says.
Abdulali has recruited local officials in her fight, and Mumbai decreed India’s first “No-Honking” day in 2008, with cops handing out pamphlets to raise awareness about traffic noise and imposing fines up to 1,000 rupees ($12) on offending motorists. Mumbai’s police now restrict honking every Wednesday, and many traffic constables now carrying decibel meters.
But powerful officials ignore the rules when it suits them. Rival factions use festivals to win supporters, Abdulali says, so their leaders often endorse raucous celebrations. As a result, decibel levels during last year’s holiday honouring the elephant-headed god Ganesh were the highest on record.
Vijay says the festivals are only a temporary problem. Far more important is the longer-term impact of the day-to-day cacophony, so that’s where he believes activists should focus their energy. “In India we celebrate festivals with lots of noise,” he says. “But our background noise itself is beyond the permissible limit.”
It was the dogged pursuit of justice by a group of mostly senior citizens which led to the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida - the biggest demolition in the country.
The 32-storey Supertech twin towers in Noida came crashing down on Sunday. The razing down of these two towers – Apex and Ceyanne, were due to the dogged pursuit of justice by a group of majorly senior citizens. These men didn’t let factors like age, travel, and a lack of funds come in the way of their pursuit of justice.
This battle began in 2009 when four residents raised an alarm against Supertech’s violation of building bye-laws by building the twin towers. The core team included Uday Bhan Singh Teotia (80), S K Sharma (74), Ravi Bajaj (65), and M K Jain (59).
When the people started moving in, the society comprised 15 towers with 660 flats. An Apartments’ Owners Association (AOA) was formed, which consisted majorly of senior citizens.
Residents felt cheated immediately as they weren’t given what the builders promised them. Supertech had promised them a luxurious living experience surrounded by 82 per cent undeveloped area.
“We were sold the promise of living like royalty, but when we moved into the society in 2009, we realised we had not been given even half the amenities that we had paid for. Most of the brochure was a bunch of lies. Even the construction material used in the buildings was of much lower quality than was originally promised,” said Uday Bhan Singh Teotia, AOA president of Emerald Court to Hindustan Times.
Noise can be detrimental if decibels over 60 According to Dr Rajesh Chawla, pulmonologist, Apollo Hospital it is difficult to predict the impact that noise pollution will have on the people. “This is the first time that something of this on such a large scale is being undertaken in the country. How this will impact the people and their ears is something that only time will tell,” Dr Chawla said.
In case, the blast produces a decibel of over 60, this will impact the hearing of those who are living around the area. “If the explosives that are being used will create a sound that is over sixty decibels it can damage the person’s hearing. If the sound produced is even more there can be more permanent,” Dr Chawla opined. The World Health Organization defines noise above 65 decibels (dB) as noise pollution. To be precise, noise becomes harmful when it exceeds 75 decibels (dB) and is painful above 120 dB. Dr Ajay Agarwal, director & HOD, Internal Medicine Fortis Hospital, Noida said that the demolition of the Noida twin towers, will have an impact on the hearing of the people. “A normal human hearing is 60 decibels. Anything that is over this will be harmful to the ears especially in those who have partial hearing. However, how much damage this noise pollution will create will only be gauged after the event. Also, the huge noise so created may instil fear psychosis. This can lead to panic attacks in elderly who have anxiety issues,” Dr Agarwal said.
SINGAPORE – Residents in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok and Buona Vista are now enjoying slightly quieter neighbourhoods, with MRT tracks near their homes equipped with noise barriers that dampen the clunking of passing trains.
As of June, the second phase of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) project to build 27km of noise barriers along Singapore’s elevated tracks of the North-South and East-West MRT lines has been completed, spanning 10km and covering twenty locations.
Together with the first phase that was finished in 2018, 21.5km of MRT tracks are now covered by a semi-enclosure or flanked by vertical boards up to 4.5m high that can reflect or absorb sound waves.
The third phase, comprising another 5.5km in places like Joo Koon, Bishan and Paya Lebar, is set to be finished in 2024.
“You might not think that it is important – but it is,” said Mr Jen Ang, 56, a marketing director in Ang Mo Kio, who compared the dull thud of passing MRT trains to having a constant, although barely noticeable, headache.
“It happens every few minutes, sometimes it’s louder when two trains are close. At the end of the day, you are left exhausted and feel less energetic.”
He said the situation has improved now with the noise barriers up. “At least I’m no longer woken up by the sound of trains in the morning. And I get to enjoy my morning coffee.”
The locations of noise barriers are chosen based on various factors, including how close the tracks are to nearby homes. It is not clear what the total distance of MRT tracks above ground is.
Research has shown that a passing MRT train can produce noise of up to 80 to 85 decibels – the equivalent of the sound of a loud alarm clock or hairdryer. This is similar to noise levels of trains elsewhere and studies have shown that long-term exposure to this noise level can harm people’s hearing.
LTA’s barriers reduce the noise level by five to 10 decibels, as measured from the nearest residential block. The authority said previously that the resulting 75 to 80 decibel noise would be like listening to someone practising on the piano.
The project began in 2013 after residents complained about the noise from the tracks. The second phase of the project was initially due to be completed in 2019, but the Government decided to push back the date to this year as it needed to review the effectiveness of phase one of the project.
Some residents, like Ms Kong Si Min, 37, who lives near the train tracks in Ang Mo Kio, said she was counting down the days to the erection of the barriers.
Ms Kong, a business consultant, said the noise was particularly hard to bear during the period of pandemic restrictions, when she had to stay home more.
“It was then that I realised how debilitating (the noise) can be. I hope the Government continues to look into reducing noise from the trains, which definitely can still be heard.”
Today, the LTA is also exploring other ways to reduce the noise of transport infrastructure, such as with noise-dampening wheels and using ballast and concrete sleepers so tracks can more effectively absorb noise.
In 2019, then transport minister Khaw Boon Wan said developers of nearby buildings must chip in to design features that will reduce the noise from MRT tracks, as MRT noise can never be completely eradicated.
“Developers know about our rail and rail projects years in advance of their construction,” he said.
Transport Minister S. Iswaran said on Facebook last week that the installation of the barriers has not been easy. Time and effort were required to set up the barriers safely along a live MRT line without damaging existing infrastructure, he said.
Noise barrier installation takes place only after passenger service hours and is coordinated with other rail maintenance and improvement works.
During the construction of the barriers, mobile noise shields were used to reduce the impact on residents. Noise levels were also closely monitored in real time.
“I seek residents’ continued understanding on this,” Mr Iswaran said. “When the project is done, residents can look forward to a quieter neighbourhood.”
The National Environment Agency recommends that people should be exposed to no more than 67 decibels of noise level.
However, a National University of Singapore study in 2017 found that Singapore’s average outdoor sound level throughout the day was 69.4 decibels, exceeding the recommended level.
The former sound barrier that was later removed for the highway expansion works
Residents of Pinggiran Golf Saujana Resort in Shah Alam, Selangor, have been living with noise pollution since the sound barrier at the nearby highway was removed in 2013.
They want it restored but claim their pleas to relevant authorities have fallen on deaf ears.
The residents said the sound barrier along the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) from KM13 to KM13.5 was removed for the fourth lane widening works.
The residents’ representative, who didn’t want to be identified, complained that the noise had doubled over the years.
“Some residents even had to vacate their bedrooms facing the highway because they could no longer sleep peacefully.
“We have been patiently waiting for the authorities’ help for nine years now,” said the resident.
The affected residents hired a specialist consultant to conduct a noise survey in 2015. The study revealed that the noise level was over the limit allowed in the Environment Department’s guidelines.
“The authorities are welcomed to conduct their own survey so that they can understand our dilemma,” added the residents’ representative.
Shah Alam’s area councillor Kumareval Subrayan said he had visited the site and was aware of the issue.
“I will raise this matter at Shah Alam City Council’s upcoming full board meeting,” he said.
Udon Thani: Relief measures including a plan to move a training base for the Thai and Singaporean air force F-16 fighter crew to Nam Phong airbase in Khon Kaen province in the next 3-4 years is being drawn up.
The move is to help locals living in the vicinity of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF)’s airbase in Udon Thani who have complained about aircraft noise, a seminar was told on Friday.
Authorities from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the RTAF, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and locals were invited to the city meeting to discuss a recent rise in noise pollution, particularly during take-off and landing.
Gp Capt Wisarut Chanthapradit, commander of the RTAF’s 23rd air wing, said nobody was sitting idly by following complaints from those affected in the northeastern province.
Plans to move the Thai and Singaporean air force facility to Nam Phong district in Khon Kaen province in the next 3-4 years are already advancing at pace.
Gp Capt Wisarut said that normally only four fighter jets would be in service at this time of the year; there were already a total of 12 jets involved in this year’s specially arranged joint training.
Sarawut Petchpanomporn, Pheu Thai MP for Udon Thani and president of the House committee, said it was a second trip for members to verify the credibility of the complaints following an earlier visit.
While cautiously welcoming the decision to relocate, Mr Sarawut also called on the combined force to offer aid to those affected by the extra air traffic.
Sayan Meekaew, chief of the environment quality control division of the Environment Office, said harmful noise levels had been recorded in three areas and hoped the RTAF would help pay for treatment for locals.
After tolerating what she claimed were sounds of dragging furniture and children running and jumping from her neighbour upstairs for about three years, her health deteriorated from being sleep-deprived and she had to stop working for six months.
The customer service officer, who wanted to be known only as Jessie, 37, told The Straits Times that she decided to give up and fork out $1,200 to rent a bedroom in a landed house elsewhere with her husband last month, as she could not take it anymore.
“Spending the money is worth it as it buys me peace. I can now sleep properly, my blood pressure has gotten better, and I can focus on my job now,” she said.
Jessie, who still owns her Housing Board flat in Yishun, took her case to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal (CDRT) in July 2020 after three failed attempts at mediation through the Community Mediation Centre (CMC).
She claimed her neighbours quietened down for about three weeks after the session, before the noise started to pick up again.
Jessie’s case was among 221 applications that were filed with the CDRT in 2020. There were 237 applications in 2021, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said in response to a parliamentary question on Feb. 18.
HDB has also seen an uptick in feedback relating to noise from residents’ activities, including renovation noise.
Such cases went up by about 25% to 3,200 cases a month in 2021, compared with 2,500 cases a month in 2020.
This is likely due to work from home arrangements, coupled with the resumption of renovation activity in June 2020, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee in response to a parliamentary question on Feb. 14.
Jessie, who worked in an office, claimed the noises from her neighbour’s young children would get worse after 10 p.m. and carried on until past midnight. When it stopped, noises from pushing furniture would begin.
The distress from not being able to sleep affected her at work.
She said: “I’d go to work and sleep in the office. I got quick-tempered, I started to scold customers and cry at work — I couldn’t control myself. I never behaved like that before, and it scared me.
“I couldn’t go on like this any longer and I left my job.”
Affecting mental health Annabelle Chow, principal clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, said noise disturbances could result in poor quality fragmented sleep — when a person wakes up several times a night — and could affect their mental well-being.
“It increases daytime sleepiness, tiredness, annoyance, mood changes, and decreases cognitive performance,” she said.
Jessie was also prescribed medication — sleeping pills, antidepressants and propranolol, a medicine that treats high blood pressure, anxiety, and migraines.
Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist who runs his own practice at Gleneagles Medical Center, said that prescribing medication like antidepressants is common to regulate anxiety while patients look for a longer-term solution.
“Mental health is tied to physical health. If your sleep is poor and stress levels are high, it affects your blood pressure, digestive processes, and can cause tension, headaches, or anxiety attacks,” he added.
Jessie landed a job in the same line, which she started when she moved out last month. She and her husband are also in the process of selecting a build-to-order flat, which they applied for last November.
She said of her Yishun flat: “I thought this would be our ‘forever home,’ after renting for about three years before moving in. I love this unit, and I’m sad I’ll have to let it go.”
HDB advises those facing neighbour disputes to “communicate with your neighbours politely, listen to them and be willing to compromise” before seeking mediation services, according to its website.
The current quiet hours — where residents are advised to keep their volume levels low and avoid carrying out drilling and hammering works are between 10:30 p.m. and 7 a.m.
A private tuition teacher who wanted to be known only as Ng, 47, said she was polite when she approached her neighbour upstairs to tell them about the alleged heavy footsteps and dragging noises she heard.
“They said I was crazy and shut the door,” she said, adding that the noise, which occurs in the day, was disruptive.
But Ng is hesitant to apply for mediation through the CMC or CDRT.
“To bring the matter up to that level, wouldn’t it strain relations? It’s a last resort and I doubt the chances of an effective resolution,” she said. “I’ll just tolerate it.”
But in another case, Madam Chia, 46, said that bringing her issue to CDRT was the only avenue she had, as her neighbour upstairs refused to attend mediation and was adamant the stomping and running noises she allegedly heard did not come from their children.
“The neighbour even posted on our estate’s Facebook group that they were the ones being harassed,” the customer service officer added. The proceedings are still ongoing.
Wang advised people enduring noisy neighbours to explain the situation calmly to them.
“If the problem is not solved, seek help from authorities to mediate – don’t take matters into your own hands,” he said.
Singapore noise nuisance
In a letter to ST’s Forum page published on Feb. 21, an ST reader suggested a demerit system for recalcitrant noisy neighbours where HDB compiles complaints from residents about a specific unit.
HDB should issue the unit a warning letter when the complaints reach a certain number, the reader said, adding that the number of warning letters should be considered when the noisemaker applies for another flat or for services under HDB.
In the United Kingdom, noisy residents can be issued a noise abatement order. If they break the order, they can be fined up to £5,000 (S$9,000).
But criminal lawyer Amolat Singh said the demerit system is not workable as it may punish innocent residents living in the same home.
“If it’s up to the number of complaints, there is no avenue for a person to clear their name,” he said.
Singh noted that offenders who contravenes a Magistrate’s Court order to abate the nuisance can face a fine of up to $2,000 under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, but these are extreme cases.
“The remedy lies in educating people. We are a very densely populated country, and we must be a bit more sensitive,” he added.
Still, Jessie hopes more can be done.
She said: “There are many people who are in the same situation I was in, and we complain and give advice to each other on social media.
“Others may not have the means to move out like I did, so I really hope the Government can do more about this.
About 63,000 residents of Pyeongtaek will receive monthly compensation for noise pollution coming from a military airport in the city, officials said Monday.
According to the government of Pyeongtaek, a city about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, the residents of 10 administrative units, including Sinjang and Paengseong districts, will receive monthly compensation from August under the military noise pollution compensation act which took effect last year.
compensation for aircraft noise korea
South Koreans and foreigners who have been registered as residents of the districts between Nov. 27, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, are eligible for compensation application.
A monthly settlement of 60,000 won (US$50.30) will be provided per resident living in an area suffering noise pollution of 95 wecpnl or higher, 45,000 won for pollution of between 90 wecpnl and 95 wecpnl and 30,000 won for pollution of between 80 wecpnl and 90 wecpnl.
Wecpnl is a comprehensive unit measuring aircraft noise levels.
The city’s deliberation committee will review the applications and deliver the results by May, officials said.
factory buses cause noise nuisance george town malaysia
Factory buses causing noise, complain residents
GEORGE TOWN: Residents in the Relau neighbourhood in Paya Terubong, Penang, are upset over the noise pollution caused by factory buses.
They said this problem had been going on for more than 10 years with the authorities not taking any remedial measures.
Relau is a mixed neighbourhood, where low-cost flats exist together with expensive properties.
The problem began when some of these low-cost flats were turned into hostels for foreigners working in factories in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.
Factory buses often enter the neighbourhood to pick and drop these workers.
At a press conference today at the Sierra East condominium, the Penang Relau Residents Association said the driving habits of these bus drivers also endangered the lives of residents.
“The roads in the neighbourhood are narrow and these buses are too big.
“Some of our residents have experienced close calls with these buses almost hitting their cars at T- junctions,” said Keane Ng, representative of the Penang Relau Residents Association who chaired the session.
He said there was noise pollution when the bus drivers started to park their buses along the roads.
“They start their engines as early at 4am,” said Ng.
He said the parked buses caused traffic congestion.
Ng said the noise pollution and the hostels for foreign workers had led to a depreciation in the value of their properties.
Ng called on the Association of Companies in Penang Industrial Zone (Frepenca) to resolve the problem by designating special parking depots for the buses that are located far from their neighbourhood.
He said Paya Terubong assemblyman Yeoh Soon Hin had promised to find a solution to their woes by introducing road bumps and height gantries.
“We have also raised this matter with chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.”
Back in 2018, The Star reported that the Penang state government had identified two sites in Bayan Lepas as factory bus depots.
Earlier in February, factory bus operators said the lack of such depots had forced them to park in residential areas.
You can make some noise, or you can break some laws, but you should avoid doing both. After neighbours complained of a Pathum Thani condo in a luxury building making excessive noise, police checked it out and uncovered a drug-dealing operation. The investigation led to several arrests.
The Department Of Provincial Administration joined the district chief of Klong Luang in Pathum Thani to investigate the noise complaint and ended up setting up a sting operation that culminated in a drug bust instead of just a noise violation.
noise complaints lead to drug bust Thailand
The sting offered a low-level drug deal of just 500 baht and ensnared a 26-year-old Thai man and a 24-year-old Thai man who was a fourth-year university student. The Pathum Thani bust recovered the 500 baht from the drug deal as well as 2 full marijuana plants and imported heads for growing, weighing just over 46 grams. Other paraphernalia and evidence was seized too.
The raid was a small one, but police leveraged the young dealers to try to climb up the supply chain for a more significant bust. The 2 small-time dealers rolled over on another location in Pathum Thani just a few kilometres where police encountered 4 people doing drugs.
Police found and seized 514 grams of compressed marijuana on the premise in the second bust. They also made 2 more arrests related to the case including following the trail from the busts to locate and arrest a drug runner who was stopped in the middle of a delivery. He had 182 grams of marijuana on him.
The man claimed that he had no idea that the parcels he was delivering contained illegal drugs, saying that a woman who looked like a normal vendor told him he was just delivering cakes, for which he was paid a mere 280 baht.
