Man who stabbed neighbors over TV noise gets 8 years for attempted murder

Taichung, March 31 (CNA) A man in Taichung was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison on Tuesday for stabbing two people during a dispute over noise from a neighbor's television.

The ruling can be appealed.

The Taichung District Court found the 24-year-old man, surnamed Lin (林), guilty of two counts of attempted murder, handing down sentences of 7 years and 2 months and 6 years, respectively, for a combined term of 8 years and 4 months.

According to prosecutors, Lin went to confront his 71-year-old neighbor, surnamed Chen (陳), at her home in Wufeng District on Oct. 16 last year, complaining that her TV was too loud.

A 71-year-old auto repair shop worker, surnamed Shih (施), who heard the argument, attempted to intervene but was also attacked.

Lin then used a fruit knife to stab both Chen and Shih, leaving Shih with a puncture wound to the chest and a hemothorax, while Chen suffered stab wounds to the back of her neck and forehead. Both were hospitalized and later survived.

After the attack, Lin returned home and called police. Officers arrested him outside Chen's residence and seized the weapon.

Prosecutors said Lin had previously been convicted in 2023 for a similar knife attack on a neighbor, raising concerns about repeated violent behavior.