A woman was left so terrified by a man who peered through the window of her home in Bushey Heath in Herts that she has moved to a first floor flat.
Kwok Wong, aged 62, is said to have been lonely during the COVID-19 pandemic when, on at least three occasions, he travelled from his home in Perivale, west London to stare into the home in The Rutts.
The victim, who did not know Wong, bought a ring door and lights in an attempt to deter him. In a victim personal statement she said she was terrified and so distressed she eventually had to move. “He kept coming back and it scared me,” she said.
Michael Speak, prosecuting at St Albans Crown Court, said Wong was caught by an off duty police officer saw him looking through the window of her at 11.30 at night on November 2nd 2020. He claimed he wanted to ask the way to Watford.
In September 2020 the victim saw a man in a baseball hat looking through her window. She noticed her gravel had been trodden down. When she saw him at her door she asked if she could help him, but Wong walked off. A week later he was again looking through her dining room window.
Wong, now of Mosel House, Askew Road, Hammersmith appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to putting a person in fear of violence by harassment.
Sophia Dower, defending, said it was a very peculiar offence. “He was not disguised and every time he was confronted he ran away,” she said.
Ms Dower said it happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when Wong, who is divorced, was feeling “lonely, isolated and depressed.”
“Was he seeking the companionship of another person?,” she asked.
She said there has been no further offending since the offence, which took place two years ago. He now acts as a carer in Hammersmith, having previously worked in family restaurants and shops.
Recorder Gary Blaker KC said : “It is unclear what his motivation was. His life was in pieces after the break up of his marriage.” He said his actions had a very serious impact on the victim.
Wong was sentenced to 24 weeks’ jailed suspended for 18 months, must carry out 20 rehabilitation days and 150 hours’ unpaid work. He made a Restraining Order banning him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly for five years.
The judge told him: “You are being kept out prison by the skin of your teeth. If you are feeling lonely then find friends by other means.”
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