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Society

Sleepless Swede charged for dousing smoking neighbour

Published: 16 Sep 10 16:32 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/29062/20100916/

An 83-year-old man from Sölvesborg in southern Sweden is facing charges after he extinguished his neighbour’s cigarette with a bucket of water.

The charges stem from an incident which took place on an unusually warm August night, the local Blekinge Läns Tidning (BLT) newspaper reports.

Unable to sleep due to the lingering late-evening heat, the 83-year-old went to open a window, hoping for some relief.

Instead he was enveloped by a cloud of cigarette smoke which billowed up from the balcony below and proceeded to waft into his bedroom.

Angered by the unexpected fog of second-hand smoke, the 83-year-old was determined to extinguish his neighbour’s cigarette by any means necessary.

“I went and fetched a bucket from the closet and filled it with water. Yeah, then the cigarette was put out,” the 83-year-old to BLT.

“Why should a tenant need to put up with behaviour like that from a neighbour…I’m an old man with allergies and get sick from cigarette smoke. This is my bedroom. It’s outrageous to not be able to breathe fresh air here.”

According to the neighbour, the 83-year-old yelled at her to put our her cigarette or risk being reported to the police. And no sooner had she heard the man’s threat, she found herself soaked from head to toe.

But the drenched and nicotine-dependent neighbour didn’t take the matter lying down and instead filed her own report to the police.

She claimed that the old man’s soggy assault wasn't a spontaneous act of frustration, but rather a calculated and premeditated attack.

She also fears that she may have suffered an injury as a result of getting soaked by the 83-year-old.

“It hurt a lot when the water hit my head,” she told BLT, adding she intends to seek medical help for the pain.

The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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16:55 September 16, 2010 by PorkForEveryone
A crotchety old man,

and a lying calculating woman...

heck, that's a match made in heaven.
17:06 September 16, 2010 by calebian22
He is old, he deserves the right to be a little crotchety.

The water hurt her head? Good grief!
17:27 September 16, 2010 by Mb 65
I don't blame him when you don't smoke it makes you feel sick. you always get people standing outside a supermarket smoking it's disgusting.
17:31 September 16, 2010 by Michael Whitfield
Way to go! Give this old curmudgeon a medal. Cigarette smoke is nasty and no one should have to breath this carcinogen business.
17:35 September 16, 2010 by Mzungu
Should have been a bucket of crap....

*then she has grounds to complain* :)
17:36 September 16, 2010 by eZee.se
PorkForEveryone wrote:

"and a lying calculating woman..."

I totally agree because of these statements:

- "a spontaneous act of frustration, but rather a calculated and premeditated attack."

- " may have suffered an injury as a result of getting soaked"

!
18:01 September 16, 2010 by BillyB
you have got to laugh at the dramatic sensationalism in the story though..

"he was enveloped by a cloud of cigarette smoke which billowed up from the balcony below"

"unexpected fog"

so was it a cigarette or was it the Towering Inferno?
18:36 September 16, 2010 by booka
How about assult for poisoning other people with their smoke......
19:29 September 16, 2010 by Toffee_apple
The woman needs to get over it. It was just water. I only hope her "injury" is assessed by a psychiatrist and that this courageous man appeals the charges.

Smoking is banned in corridors of apartment and office buildings. The ban needs to be extended to balconies too. Smokers can leave their building altogether if they need to smoke.
19:46 September 16, 2010 by jack sprat
Nice one old timer.

Ciggy smoke is unpleasant,aggravating and can kill.

On the other hand a bucket of water on a hot summers evening is a refreshing experience.

The old bat below should have appreciated the kind gesture rather than feigning non existant injuries.
20:33 September 16, 2010 by Swedesmith
Lucky for her, he didn't urinate on her.
21:37 September 16, 2010 by mojofat
"It hurt a lot when the water hit my head,"

The morning shower must be a real drag for her.

Although I probably wouldn't throw water on someone, I also have neighbors who smoke incessantly on their balcony...and then toss their butts over the ledge to the ground as if they're magic acorns. I guess smokers aren't typically known for their consideration of others.
23:09 September 16, 2010 by engagebrain
Good for the old man.
23:18 September 16, 2010 by seagull
Don't smoke, hate smoke, but a balcony in her own apartment? If it was bothering him, he could have asked nicely. Obviously we don't know the truth, but if that would have been me, and without warning, a few friends invited around to a few parties for the forseeable weekends would have been arranged.
00:11 September 17, 2010 by wxman
In socialism, everyone thinks they are the only ones with rights.
01:38 September 17, 2010 by ChrisPDX
Exactly Seagull, how will we ever know the truth of their relationship? Maybe he has been putting up with it for years, to no avail? Perhaps the old man is so brainwashed about 2nd hand smoke that he snapped? I think petrol fumes are more dangerous than 2nd hand smoke, but are we banning cars? I am highly allergic to petrol fumes, especially old cars and trucks. I also find 2nd hand smoke annoying, but not as dangerous and annoying as petrol fumes.
10:58 September 17, 2010 by Shazzer
I have thought about doing exactly this to my downstairs neighbors on many occasions...but as my apartment is on the top floor of our building and the balcony is somewhat recessed into the roof, any water I toss would never hit the chimneys underneath.

I've tried walking out on the balcony and farting loudly when they're out there puffing away, but given how their sense of smell has already been trashed by their nasty smoking habits, they probably don't even notice.

It's ridiculous that their right to smoke on their balcony trumps my right to not have my apartment smell like a dirty ashtray.
12:15 September 17, 2010 by sparkriver
bravo to the old man...

she deserved it
14:55 September 17, 2010 by Audrian
What would he have done if cigarettee butts had rained on him from a balacony above?

The comments by PorFor Everyone is witty. Well said!
16:17 September 17, 2010 by Swedesmith
@Shazzer

That was you farting? I always thought is was geese.
22:41 September 17, 2010 by MorbidMiss
@ChrisPDX

Actually they have proven in multiple studies now that second hand and even third hand (lingering scent/residue on clothing or other items) can cause cancer, aggravate Asthma and set off allergies.

Maybe the old man should not have dumped water on her, but come on... "Ouch, water, I am grievously injured!" Give me a break. Did he freeze the water first? Did he drop the whole lot pail and all?
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