Status: 10.11.2023, 12:54 p.m.
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At the district court of Miesbach (archive photo), a Munich resident was acquitted. © Thomas Plettenberg
It makes him "a murderer": For this statement to a tenant and about an insolvency administrator, a Munich resident had to answer in court for threats. But the latter did not want to recognize any threat.
Valley – Not all death threats are the same, and anyone who makes such a threat should be careful how and to whom they do so. This conclusion could be drawn from the result of a trial in which a 62-year-old man was acquitted by the Miesbach District Court.
The Munich man sat in the dock because of his aggressive behavior. He was accused of threatening in two cases. He is said to have told a tenant (49) on the phone that she would make him "a murderer at some point". In another phone call, he is said to have threatened a tax official that he would shoot his insolvency administrator. Meanwhile, the defendant portrayed himself as a victim of slander and harassment.
He had wanted to help the 49-year-old and her family when he rented her the apartment in a district of Valley. But she took advantage of this and did not pay rent for a year and a half, although only the renovation period had been agreed as rent-free. In addition, she incited the community against him and constantly sued him. The reason for her hatred was probably the failure of her husband to report it to the authorities, which came to light. The dispute ultimately escalated when a plumber forgot to turn the electricity back on after repairing it in the basement. The tenant then called him and made him responsible. However, he had been out of town and had therefore asked her to take care of it herself and pay for it. Instead, the woman called the police.
Rent reduction: Landlord becomes drastic
The 49-year-old presented the matter differently. The apartment was littered up to the ceiling when it was handed over. At the town hall, she was told that she could not register because the landlord was registered there himself. Although he had promised to take care of her, he had always only "stalled" her. That's why she reduced the rent. "I don't lift a finger," he said, commenting on the power outage. That's when she called the police, who unlocked the cellar door and turned the electricity back on. The 62-year-old then called her in a rage and threatened that he would turn off the electricity again if she did not pay. Then he insulted her and yelled at her, "I'm going to be a murderer here."
Read also: When a rent reduction is justified
The conversation took place in Turkish. He had spoken very quickly and somewhat instructively, the defendant tried to mitigate, which the woman had probably "misunderstood" as a threat. According to his account, the second accusation should also be based on a "misunderstanding". The 62-year-old hardly responded to the questions of Judge Walter Leitner. Instead, it was about the insolvency, which in his view was through no fault of his own, and unjustified claims against him.
However, the tax officer remembered the man's drastic statement on the phone quite accurately. He immediately informed the administrator, who was not known to him personally, about the incident by telephone, the witness described.
Statement "in the heat of the moment"
Nevertheless, the defendant got out of the case with impunity. He had not specifically threatened the tenant, but had merely made the statement in the heat of the moment, without directing it against anyone in particular, was the reasoning in the first case. In the second case, the threat was not made directly or against a related person within the meaning of Section 241 of the Criminal Code and was therefore not punishable. "If they still get together in the future, you don't talk to other people like that," Leitner warned in conclusion.
Stefan Gernböck