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Strange Crimes

Hospital patient arrested for allegedly switching off neighbor’s ‘noisy’ oxygen machine​


A hospital patient has been arrested after she allegedly twice switched off the oxygen equipment on which a fellow patient depended because it was too noisy, German authorities have said.

The public prosecutor’s office in the southwest German city of Mannheim obtained a warrant for the 72-year-old woman’s arrest and she was brought before the magistrate and investigating judge on Wednesday.

She was later admitted to a “correctional facility,” the police headquarters and public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim said in a statement.

The woman allegedly turned off the main switch of the oxygen equipment some time before 8:00 pm on Tuesday, “after feeling disturbed by the noise emanating from (it),” the statement said.

“Although the suspect was informed by hospital staff that the oxygen supply was a vital measure, she allegedly turned off the device again at around 9:00 pm,” it continued.

The 79-year-old woman had to be resuscitated and is still receiving intensive medical care.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/02/europe/woman-arrest-neighbor-oxygen-machine-scli-intl/index.html

maximus otter
 
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maximus otter said:

Hospital patient arrested for allegedly switching off neighbor’s ‘noisy’ oxygen machine​


A hospital patient has been arrested after she allegedly twice switched off the oxygen equipment on which a fellow patient depended because it was too noisy, German authorities have said.

The public prosecutor’s office in the southwest German city of Mannheim obtained a warrant for the 72-year-old woman’s arrest and she was brought before the magistrate and investigating judge on Wednesday.

She was later admitted to a “correctional facility,” the police headquarters and public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim said in a statement.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/11/world/denmark-brain-collection-scn-spc-intl/index.html
The woman allegedly turned off the main switch of the oxygen equipment some time before 8:00 pm on Tuesday, “after feeling disturbed by the noise emanating from (it),” the statement said.

“Although the suspect was informed by hospital staff that the oxygen supply was a vital measure, she allegedly turned off the device again at around 9:00 pm,” it continued.

The 79-year-old woman had to be resuscitated and is still receiving intensive medical care.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/02/europe/woman-arrest-neighbor-oxygen-machine-scli-intl/index.html

maximus otter
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You really do get some loony tunes in hospital. Some with dementia, or other mental issues, some with pretty awful side effects of meds they are on, druggies etc. Not necessarily the safest places on the planet.
 
Texas family offers reward for 16-foot Rudolph reindeer stolen from front yard, caught on doorbell video

A Houston, Texas, family is offering up a reward for anyone who can help track down a 16-foot inflatable Rudolph stolen from their front lawn this week.

Surveillance footage obtained by KRIV-TV shows a woman drive up to the Houston family’s home and unplug the inflatable reindeer before coming back with a helper and putting the Christmas decoration in a pickup truck and driving off.

The Furman family says it is offering a $2,000 reward for the return of the inflatable reindeer.

(Video at link below):

https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-fa...ndeer-stolen-front-yard-caught-doorbell-video

maximus otter
 
ramonmercado said:
The saga continues.

A man is still fighting to get his house back more than a year since it was sold without his knowledge.

Reverend Mike Hall previously told the BBC of his shock at returning to his Luton house and finding it stripped of all furnishings in August last year. He is still working to obtain compensation for the loss of his property and has been unable to regain formal ownership of his house. A Bedfordshire Police investigation remains ongoing.

Mr Hall, who bought the property in 1990, was working in north Wales on 20 August 2021 when he received a call from his neighbours alerting him that someone was in his house and all the lights were on. He drove home to find building work under way and a new owner who said he had bought the house.

"I tried my key in the front door, it didn't work and a man opened the front door to me - and the shock of seeing the house completely stripped of furniture, everything was out of the property."

BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme obtained the driving licence used to impersonate Mr Hall, details of a bank account set up in his name to receive the proceeds of the sale, and phone recordings of a man claiming to be Mr Hall instructing solicitors to sell the house. Once the house was sold to the new owner for £131,000 by the person impersonating Mr Hall, they legally owned it.

As well as Mr Hall fighting to regain ownership, the BBC has learned that over a year later, the new owners are contesting Mr Hall's appeal to have the house transferred back into his name, which may result in a legal tribunal before any decision is made. ...

Since the initial BBC report, further victims have come forward to share their experiences. Four weeks before Mr Hall's discovery, Angus Penfound's property in Southampton was also sold without his knowledge. Mr Penfound bought his late Victorian three-bedroom terraced house for £180,000 in 2018. After securing work in Cornwall, Mr Penfound took the decision to rent the property out via a local estate agent.
A criminal calling themselves Stephen Jones took up the tenancy and paid the rent and council tax. They never moved into the property, but used access to it to sell on for £196,000 - well below market value. ...

The BBC has seen Land Registry information which shows that in 2021-22 it paid nearly £7m for 598 claims to their indemnity fund, which is used to help compensate instances of fraud, compared with £5.44m for 540 claims in 2020-21. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-63392025
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A close call.

A prospective first-time buyer said he nearly bought a house which was being listed for sale fraudulently on property website Zoopla.

Max Holland had an offer accepted on a home in Cambridge in June 2020, but then police rang to tell him the house was not for sale by the real owner.

Last month, tenant Andrew Smith was jailed for his part in the fraud connected to the home in Argyle Street.

A Zoopla spokesperson said it had "a robust system of vetting and checks".

A joint BBC Radio 4 You and Yours and BBC Look East investigation has discovered fake estate agents had been invented and posted their listings on Zoopla.

Mr Holland said he had been house-hunting and saving for a deposit when he spotted a property that "seemed like a pretty good deal".

Using a form on the site, he got in touch with the agent, called Smith and Jones Estate Agents, who replied saying it had been sold - but offered him the details of a similar terraced house nearby which was "even nicer", he said. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-63871888
 

(Mainstream news has gone?);​


Street harassment: Wolf whistling to be banned in crackdown​

Wolf-whistling, catcalling and staring persistently will be criminalised in England under plans backed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Can you really be arrested for staring?
 
Floyd1 said:

(Mainstream news has gone?);​


Street harassment: Wolf whistling to be banned in crackdown​

Wolf-whistling, catcalling and staring persistently will be criminalised in England under plans backed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Can you really be arrested for staring?
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Yeah, I found that concerning as well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63916328
 
Will we be prosecuted for farting next?
 
Floyd1 said:

(Mainstream news has gone?);​


Street harassment: Wolf whistling to be banned in crackdown​

Wolf-whistling, catcalling and staring persistently will be criminalised in England under plans backed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Can you really be arrested for staring?
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"Will be" should be "would be". These are plans backed by the Home Secretary. Just procedurally, never mind politically, there is a lot to happen before the plans become law, if they ever do.

Assuming that the law does come into force, it will be one of those clubs that the police have in their bags for when it is really needed. My son is a police officer, in a small provincial town, busy dealing with gun crime, drugs, domestic violence, rapes, suicides, road traffic collisions... there is no way he or his colleagues would be going out looking for people staring or wolf whistling.

However, when there is real harassment going on — persistent behaviour that is likely to cause fear or alarm to an individual or members of a group or community — the most skilled harassers are good at keeping just on the legal side of the line. "I never said anything, I never hit her, I never threatened her..." "Yes, but he sits opposite me every day, just staring, watches my every move, leering..."

This law, as described, would give the police something to point to, giving them the opportunity to issue formal "words of advice" or to issue a caution. This starts the process that could lead to things like a restraining order or a prosecution, and does so at an earlier stage, which can only be good for the genuine victim.

As for "wolf whistling", this is less common than it once was. It is true that it is often only meant in good sport, and it is probably true that some women may find it either inoffensive or even flattering, but it is wrong to put someone in a position where they have to either accept it, suck it up, or do something about it. I can genuinely sympathise with the victims of this "minor" offence because I have had a number of minority hobbies (tandem riding, unicycling, fencing) and although no individual predictable daft comment is offensive, the combined effect of years of the same unsolicited comments and jokes is wearying indeed.
 
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I think it will be difficult to define persistent staring. As for the rest, I fully understand how such activity can be threatening, but why not just make harassment in general a crime? Unprovoked shouting in someone's face, blocking their path, trying to sell them Herbalife.

BTW, I have witnessed some harassment of the sort addressed in the proposed law, and never felt the need to intervene. Women around here are quite good at defending themselves.
 
ChasFink said:
I think it will be difficult to define persistent staring. As for the rest, I fully understand how such activity can be threatening, but why not just make harassment in general a crime? Unprovoked shouting in someone's face, blocking their path, trying to sell them Herbalife.

BTW, I have witnessed some harassment of the sort addressed in the proposed law, and never felt the need to intervene. Women around here are quite good at defending themselves.
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Persistent and staring are English words in common use and with fairly simple meanings. In the absence of a formal definition, the English legal system would interpret the words as they would be understood in good faith by a reasonable person.

Harassment is indeed an offence under English law. Harassment is far harder to define in everyday English than "persistent" or "staring". It could mean anything from a child asking their mother time after time for sweets, right through to a military unit pursuing and killing a fleeing army. For this reason, there is a formal legal definition for the offence.

However, as soon as the police have a definition to work to, the perpetrators also have a definition to work to. The offence becomes a moving target: If I can't do that anymore, I'll do this instead. Now that it is much harder to get away with verbal threats, shouted abuse, unwanted emails or phone calls, and so on, some "clever" perpetrators may move to more psychological approaches: the persistent stare, the constant middle-distance following and monitoring, always being in sight, doing nothing "illegal" (under current law) but definitely doing something that is intended to cause alarm or distress to an individual.

"Women around here..." are just the ones you notice. You probably don't notice the quiet, timid ones, or the ones who are being terrorised and bullied by a former partner, or someone that they had one uncomfortable date with. The sort of person who stalks and harasses people (and the targets are not always women) is very good at isolating their target, or making them feel isolated and vulnerable.

I know individuals — good friends — who have had frightening long term problems with stalkers. In one case the stalker was virtually unknown to the target. In another, it was the target's ex husband following the breakdown of a decades-long marriage.
 
Mikefule said:
Persistent and staring are English words in common use and with fairly simple meanings. In the absence of a formal definition, the English legal system would interpret the words as they would be understood in good faith by a reasonable person.

Harassment is indeed an offence under English law. Harassment is far harder to define in everyday English than "persistent" or "staring". It could mean anything from a child asking their mother time after time for sweets, right through to a military unit pursuing and killing a fleeing army. For this reason, there is a formal legal definition for the offence.

However, as soon as the police have a definition to work to, the perpetrators also have a definition to work to. The offence becomes a moving target: If I can't do that anymore, I'll do this instead. Now that it is much harder to get away with verbal threats, shouted abuse, unwanted emails or phone calls, and so on, some "clever" perpetrators may move to more psychological approaches: the persistent stare, the constant middle-distance following and monitoring, always being in sight, doing nothing "illegal" (under current law) but definitely doing something that is intended to cause alarm or distress to an individual.

"Women around here..." are just the ones you notice. You probably don't notice the quiet, timid ones, or the ones who are being terrorised and bullied by a former partner, or someone that they had one uncomfortable date with. The sort of person who stalks and harasses people (and the targets are not always women) is very good at isolating their target, or making them feel isolated and vulnerable.

I know individuals — good friends — who have had frightening long term problems with stalkers. In one case the stalker was virtually unknown to the target. In another, it was the target's ex husband following the breakdown of a decades-long marriage.
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Proving it will be difficult though. I had a run-in with some chavs the other week where one gave me that hard stare that they love to do. Even if he does it again or many more times, I doubt the police would have the time or proof to be able to do anything about it.
 
ChasFink said:
I think it will be difficult to define persistent staring.
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It will be virtually impossible. Therefore activists will have something else to groan about: “It’s been illegal since [date], why have there been no successful prosecutions? We demand [whatever].”

ChasFink said:
…why not just make harassment in general a crime?
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s.1, Protection from Harassment Act 1997:

1 Prohibition of harassment.

(1) A person must not pursue a course of conduct—
(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and
(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/40/crossheading/england-and-wales

There’s also s.5, Public Order Act 1986:

5 Harassment, alarm or distress.

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he—

(a) uses threatening [or abusive] words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening [or abusive], within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.

(2) An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place…

- So the politicians are playing the old game of “Let’s make it double-extra-super illegal with knobs on”, in order to appear tough on crime and appease vocal agitators.

maximus otter
 
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Mikefule said:
Persistent and staring are English words in common use and with fairly simple meanings. In the absence of a formal definition, the English legal system would interpret the words as they would be understood in good faith by a reasonable person.
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“Drunk” and “driving” are also common, well-understood words, but look at the tomes of case law that surround their use:

* lf A is sitting in the driver’s seat of the car, drunk, operating the pedals while B (sober) operates the wheel, is A or B driving?

* At what point am l “driving” my car while drunk? As l totter towards it, keys in hand? When l unlock the door? When l enter the driving seat? Keys into ignition? Engine on? Engage gear? Move off?

(l am not making these examples up, BTW. Barristers have, and are still, making their pension funds off this kind of thing.)

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
“Drunk” and “driving” are also common, well-understood words, but look at the tomes of case law that surround their use:

* lf A is sitting in the driver’s seat of the car, drunk, operating the pedals while B (sober) operates the wheel, is A or B driving?

* At what point am l “driving” my car while drunk? As l totter towards it, keys in hand? When l unlock the door? When l enter the driving seat? Keys into ignition? Engine on? Engage gear? Move off?

(l am not making these examples up, BTW. Barristers have, and are still, making their pension funds off this kind of thing.)

maximus otter
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I always thought that you only had to have the keys on you (in a public place).
 
'Staring' is already illegal (and has been for some time) on TfL services, being classified as 'sexual harrassment'.
(However I do wonder how the-powers-that-be will make the distinction between just happening to be 'looking in that direction' while your mind wandered, and actual 'staring'?)
The buses and trains around London display a poster to remind you.
1670610119812.png
 
And 'catcalling'? Sound like what one of members was doing the other day to feed her puss-puss.
 
I'm sure many women and others subjected to these behaviours can tell you what catcalling, wolf whistling, persistent staring is. It is not difficult to recognize it.

I don't understand where anyone thinking of putting this into law is making any difference. Protection from harassment, sexual abuse et al. are already set into law. These specific behaviours are already identified in laws. How effective these laws are is another topic entirely.

And, please, guys, lets get off this topic. Someone is going to make a joke that's not funny.
 
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