Overview
- District Judge Oliver delivered the verdict Tuesday at Highbury Magistrates' Court, finding Atidel Boutara Cook assaulted neighbor Pei Wong with a crutch.
- The judge said the wisteria belonged to Wong and her husband, Louis Scott, rejecting the defendant's claim to the plant.
- Boutara Cook was released on conditional bail with an order to avoid contact, with sentencing scheduled for May 6 at the same court.
- The case stems from a December 17, 2025 confrontation after the upstairs couple found their neighbor cutting the wisteria, which Wong filmed on her phone.
- Both sides have lived in the Stanhope Gardens building for about 20 years, where differing freehold and leasehold rights over the front garden have fueled ongoing tensions.