Elderly man sentenced to 14 years, 6 months for neighbor's fatal shooting over noise dispute

A fatal shooting occurred in Chiayi County in August 2024. According to the verdict, a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu, dissatisfied with the nighttime noise from his 57-year-old female neighbor surnamed Yin, shot her with a shotgun while she was in the kitchen, causing her death. The Supreme Court sentenced Yu to 14 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of NT$62,000, which has now been finalized and he has been sent to serve his sentence by the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office. Court investigations revealed that Yu, a bamboo shoot farmer, needed to work early in the morning. Yin had moved in about six months prior and often made noise at night. Yu's family had sought mediation through the village chief and reported the issue to the police, but it did not improve. In June 2024, Yu obtained a shotgun and steel ball pellets, storing them in his bamboo shoot shed. In August 2024, Yu loaded his shotgun and entered the firebreak alley behind their houses. He waited until Yin was washing items in her kitchen and fired at her right chest from a distance of about 2 to 3 meters. Yin sustained 12 steel ball wounds to her right chest, fractured ribs, and gunshot injuries to both lung lobes and the mediastinum, ultimately dying from acute respiratory failure. After the incident, Yu called 110 to report himself and surrendered the firearm and ammunition. The court determined that Yu intentionally shot at a vital part of the human body at close range, indicating a clear intent to kill. During the trial, Yin's family had expressed willingness to install soundproofing walls and had commissioned a real estate agent to sell their house to move out. The court found that the case did not meet the criteria for a reduced sentence due to extenuating circumstances. In the civil case, the court separately ordered Yu to pay NT$2,710,900 in compensation to the victim's family. After appeals, the Supreme Court rejected the appeals, finalizing the sentence. Noise can indeed be mentally exhausting, but based on the court ruling and related reports, there's no evidence that the deceased "intentionally" made noise, and she had even attempted to resolve the issue. I think the elderly man had bigger problems in this case 🤔