Construction worker threatened with knife by noise-plagued tenant: Diversion

The man showed remorse: “I was drunk, I didn’t sleep at all, I had a blood alcohol level of 3 per mille.” He said he couldn’t believe “that they were already drinking again.” The 52-year-old escaped conviction. The incriminated incident took place on May 6th of this year. The defendant assured the judge that he only drinks three times a year. “I’m not normally allowed to drink because I had blood clots. But the woman caused problems.”

Cracks in the ceiling

The fact that the noise in the apartment next door never stopped made him “freak out”. There were already cracks in his ceiling due to the renovation work, and the picture on the TV flickered when he watched TV, the 52-year-old reported. He therefore went to the other door several times and expressed his displeasure, but it was no use. So he finally “showed them (meaning two construction workers, note) the knife”.

The two workers locked the door in the face of the rabid 52-year-old, who, according to the prosecution, then stabbed the knife against the door several times, cursing loudly and shouting “Come out!” One of the craftsmen emphasized as a witness that he had “only used a small drill” at the time and could not understand the man’s anger: “I only drilled, I didn’t chisel.”

Fine and participation in procedural costs

In view of the defendant’s confession of responsibility and his previous clean record, the criminal proceedings were settled by way of diversion. The man was fined 360 euros and ordered to pay a further 40 euros towards the costs of the proceedings. In return, he was placed on three years’ probation and avoided conviction. When the judge asked whether he had understood this and whether he agreed with it, the 52-year-old replied: “Of course! I’m sober today.” The decision is legally binding.