Ex Chinese intelligence officer and solicitor daughter from Bassingham jailed for five-and-a-half years each for ‘terrorising’ neighbours
A former Chinese intelligence officer and her solicitor daughter were today (Friday) each jailed for five and half years after "terrorising" their teacher neighbours during an almost daily campaign of stalking.
Susan Chen, 61, and her daughter Linda Lu, 35, were convicted of causing serious alarm or distress to their neighbours, James and Lynn Smith, in the village of Bassingham, near Lincoln.
The couple, who have two young children, were increasingly targeted by their new neighbours following a disagreement about a hedge in July 2023, jurors heard.
When Mr Smith attempted to trim the front hedge separating his property from the one rented by Chen his new neighbours objected and he was threatened with legal action by Lu.
Videos recorded by Mr Smith, which were played in court, showed Chen and Lu “shouting derogatory abuse”, including the use of terms such as “retards”.
The actions continued for more than two months following the initial dispute, and included alleged “periods of loud metallic banging" from a paint can and the repeated playing of music including the "laughing policeman."
Victim impact statements from the couple were read out during a sentence hearing at Lincoln Crown Court.
Mrs Smith said her life had changed dramatically since the events of 2023 due to the campaign of harassment from Chen and Lu.
The mother-of-two revealed she now suffered from insomnia and had also been diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety.
Mrs Smith said she still found herself checking if her doors were locked several times a day and now used her garden less.
The couple's two children were also impacted, Mrs Smith said, with their eldest child being reluctant to go to sleep alone and both children also using their garden less.
Mrs Smith finished her statement by saying the couple were now faced with leaving their "forever home" and her biggest worry was the unknown future impact on her two children.
In his statement Mr Smith described how the family's 13 year stay in a village they loved was shattered by the arrival of Chen and Lou.
Mr Smith said the harassment was calculated and continued on an almost daily basis.
He stressed that Lu was in a trusted position as a qualified solicitor and used her legal training against his family.
Passing sentence Judge James House KC said it was one of the most serious cases of its kind to come before the court.
"James and Lynn Smith had both been teachers for many years," Judge House remarked.
"They had chosen Bassingham because it was and is a lovely village to live."
Judge House said events took an "unexpected and sinister turn" when the hedge incident occurred on 18 July.
"On this day Mr Smith went out and had only been cutting for 30 seconds when he became aware of Ms Chen shouting," Judge House explained.
After the Smiths' returned from holiday they were subjected to a "persistent, calculated and appalling" pattern of behaviour, Judge House said.
This included using a mobile phone linked to a camera to know when the Smith family were outside, Judge House stressed
A fence panel was also cracked right next to the children and binnoculars were used to spy on the family.
"The verbal abuse was vile," Judge House explained.
Judge House said Mr Smith was forced to submit around 200 audio and video recordings to the police while Chen and Lu simply ignored community protection notices which were served on them.
Judge House said the Smith family spent as much time away from their home as possible and moved their children to the opposite side of the property to avoid hearrng the abuse.
"In short the defendants terrorised the Smith family," Judge House concluded
"It amounted to a complete persecution of them."
Judge House added the family's victim impact statements made distressing hearing.
"Their general sense of safety in their own home has been shaken to the core."
The court heard Chen and Lu had spent around six months in custody during the criminal proceedings.
Representing themselves during their five week trial, they had alleged that they were the ones being "stalked and harassed."
But a jury took just two hours to convict the two women of stalking Mr and Mrs Smith between 15 July and 29 September 2023.
Both defendants declined the offer of a psychiatric assessment before the sentence hearing.
The jury heard Lu had no previous convictions but Chen was previously convicted of assaulting an elderly couple while living in the village of Balderton, near Newark, Notts, during 2020.
This involved Chen spitting and "setting about" the elderly couple with her walking pole after coming across them on her daily exercise.
Chen, again representing herself in court, claimed she had been unable to prepare her mitigation properly because of her remand into custody.
"I do claim we were the victims of their stalking," Chen alleged. "They have been succesful, they have made our life a living hell."
Lu, who previously worked for a number of London based law firms and owns a property in the capital, also claimed she had been prevented from preparing her mitigation properly and said her future job prospects would be impacted.
She argued her conduct fell into the lowest sentencing category as there was no planning or evidence of fear caused to Mr and Mrs Smith.
Lu also claimed there was no evidence of daily harassment and said much of the CCTV was random and contained private conversations taken from her home.
Prosecutors said Chen and Lu filmed and shouted verbal abuse towards James and Lynn Smith whilst they used their garden, six miles south of Lincoln.
The mother and daughter were also alleged to have followed Mr Smith in public places and to have deliberately made excessive noise.
Mr Smith, who has lived in the village with his wife and two children for 13 years, reported a number of incidents to the police, with audio and interactions picked up on recording devices and CCTV.
The court heard Chen moved into the rented semi-detached property with her British partner in March 2023 and was joined by her lawyer daughter, Lu, as a long term visitor.
Chen told jurors she had previously spent 14 years serving in the Chinese Army, rising to the rank of Major, and then became a millionaire after switching to a corpotate career.
Jurors were told Chen met Lu's father during her time in the Chinese Army, and he rose to the rank of General before retiring.
Chen said she later moved to the UK for a different challenge and met a new partner with whom she frequently moved around the country.
Three months after arriving in Bassingham the mother and daughter were accused of harassing the couple living next door, including shouting derogatory abuse and "periods of loud metallic banging".
The court heard that the neighbours were in their garden on 15 July when they noticed Chen taking photos of them from an upstairs window in her home.
Steve Taylor, prosecuting, said a dispute followed on 18 July, when Mr Smith was trimming a front hedge outside his home.
Chen came outside to tell Mr Smith he "couldn't trim" the hedge. She said it belonged to her.
Further incidents followed, the court heard, including "a racket" coming from the home of Lu and Chen on 19 August, and "loud banging" on 23 August.
The Smiths went away in late August to "try and get some respite". However, when they returned, banging from next door commenced "within 15 minutes".
On 30 August, Mr Smith made a statement to Lincolnshire Police.
Mr Taylor told the court that, by September, incidents were happening on a "daily basis" and did not stop after the defendants were visited by police.
Chen and Lu were arrested on 5 September and again at the end of that month.
Videos made by Mr Smith on 1, 2 and 4 September were played in court and it was alleged the defendants could be heard "shouting derogatory abuse", including words such as "retards".
There were also "periods of loud metallic banging," it was alleged.
The two defendants had denied a single charge of stalking involving serious alarm or distress contrary to section 4A (1) (b) (ii) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
Judge House also made two comprehensive restraining order which prevent Lu and Chen entering Bassingham, having any contact with the Smith family and a number of other people involved in the case.
After the trial a statement was released from PC Jordan Bathie-Drexler, who led the investigation.
He said: “Nobody should fear sitting in their own garden, walking their children to school, or worry about barrages of abuse on a regular basis, simply because their neighbours have developed an unhealthy obsession with them. Stalking has such a negative impact on a victim’s life; it consumes them, takes over their feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and safety, and leaves them vulnerable. I want to take a moment to praise the victims in this case, who have conducted themselves with absolute dignity in the face of a very difficult case. The guilty verdict is a welcome one, and we hope that the victims in this case can now find a way to move forward.”
PC Jordan Bathie-Drexler also wanted to explain why he felt this was much more than “just a neighbour dispute”.
He said: “This case might be mistaken as a neighbour dispute. But what on the face of it looked like ASB, was actually offending against the victims that took place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over a three-month period until the offenders were remanded in custody.
"All steps of intervention and control – which included community warning notices, visiting from police and words of advice, working with the ASB officers at North Kesteven District Council (NKDC) – were ignored by the suspects, who made it their mission to torment the victims. The case highlights the importance of Neighbourhood Policing and having dedicated Neighbourhood officers for specific areas – and importantly the difference we have been able to make because we have that in place.
"The fact that as a local officer I have a good understanding of the local area and its community, meant the impact of crime in a certain area was recognised quickly.”
PC Bathie-Drexler added: “In almost 10 years of policing, I have never seen such persistent, relentless and unprovoked offending by a suspect. Linda Lu utilised her position as a registered solicitor in order to carry out an all-out war on the victims of this case. This case has involved hundreds of hours work by police, as well as multiple witnesses who came forward assisted in the case and ensuring justice prevailed.
"The victims in this case have conducted themselves with dignity in what was a very distressing three months of their lives, and in reality, even longer as they sat through the trial process. They can now start to begin to rebuild their lives and return to some form of normality. I’d also like to thank the solicitors and staff working for CPS who worked tirelessly up to and during the trial, and the jury who had expected to be sworn in for seven days and ended up spending a month and a half at court.”
