6 days ago
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Confronting video has emerged of an eastern suburbs socialite and artist in a series of hostile exchanges inside her ritzy Darling Point complex, as she now faces eviction over her demanding behaviour.
Onetime aspiring lawyer Syan Yoshida-Olsen, who is the subject of a Supreme Court order for imminent expulsion from the exclusive waterfront complex Easthaven, was captured on CCTV screaming at two men outside her flat, issuing rapid-fire threats from her doorway, and promising court action over perceived wrongs.
Her shouted accusations ranged from 'chemicals' in the basement and faked building reports, to theft of possessions, illegal drilling, corruption and money laundering.
However, it is Yoshida-Olsen who has been found to have breached Easthaven's building rules, with a judgement citing a lengthy list of prohibited actions and complaints from fellow residents.
These include playing loud music between 2am and 4am, leaving a thick trail of glue along the corridor, dripping paint and plant water, dropping soil and debris onto other residents' balconies, and posting footage from her unapproved doorway CCTV camera of her neighbours online, according to the court's findings.
Videos among the multiple reels on Yoshida-Olsen's Instagram page show her loudly objecting, spouting mad conspiracy theories and vowing legal action.
Syan Yoshida-Olsen has been ordered to vacate her luxury apartment after a judge ruled she be evicted and her mother's shares in the building sold off
The apartment (above) sits on the prized peninsula of elite Darling Point, where residents enjoy park and water views - though, as the judge noted, 'none of it guarantees harmony among those who share this amenity'
Syan stuck notes on neighbours' doors claiming conspiracies, threats to privacy and bribery and corruption
A litany of complaints from fellow residents alleged Syan (above) played loud music between 2am and 4am, left a thick trail of glue along the corridor, dripped paint and plant water, dropped soil and debris onto others' balconies, and posted footage from her unapproved doorway CCTV camera of her neighbours online
In one video, she opened the door and started shouting, 'I have already indicated you can't touch my things - my personal possessions - when there is a clear entryway and you can't put chemicals in the tool room that are a massive fire hazard.
'What about the metadata that shows that building reports aren't from the actual company itself? They've been manipulated...
'Sue, if that's what you think you can do, and then they're going to investigate you on my proviso, the evidence that I've just given, okay?'
In the end, what transpired was a civil lawsuit filed by her mother, Sue-Maree Olsen, against Easthaven Limited.
The company responded with a countersuit and ultimately prevailed.
As a result, Yoshida-Olsen, who lived at Easthaven for up to three tumultuous years, has been ordered to vacate the premises within 30 days of Justice Gregory Sirtes's October 16 ruling.
The 40-year-old moved into her mother's Flat 54 in 2021, after Sue-Maree Olsen purchased shares entitling her to occupy one of the building's apartments.
Sue-Maree later moved out, on a date disputed in Justice Sirtes's eyebrow-raising judgement, leaving Syan Yoshida-Olsen as what some residents came to regard as the exclusive address's 'neighbour from hell'.
Syan Yoshida-Olsen, 40, moved into her mother's Darling Point apartment, sparking ongoing conflict with other residents of the luxury building
A NSW Supreme Court evidence photo showing belongings left outside Syan's Flat 54 - a constant source of complaints from fellow residents, who said she stored items in common areas and left bags of rotting rubbish in the corridors
In a video recorded by her own 'peephole' camera, Syan can be heard yelling about chemicals in the basement, faked building records and threatening her neighbours with court action
Over the course of about three years, Yoshida-Olsen spray-painted her own messages onto building signs, plastered residents' doors with angry notes, sent abusive texts, and commandeered shopping trolleys from the garage to store her belongings in common areas, often abandoning them outside neighbours' flats, the judgement stated.
She threatened residents and building board members with apprehended violence orders if anyone complained, according to the court's findings. The court also heard that she left her car for days in the 'no parking' car wash bay, dumped bags of rotting rubbish in walkways, and stored furniture or personal items in common areas.
Food waste was also left on the lift foyer carpet, she spilled paint while making art in shared spaces, and partied with friends in the new swimming pool area of the neighbouring building, The Terraces, the judgement recorded.
She sent hundreds of emails to the building's board and service providers, making outrageous allegations of corruption and criminal behaviour by various individuals, according to Justice Sirtes's findings.
She contacted the law firm of one board director, claiming he was practising illegally, demanded that other lawyers be struck off the NSW Solicitors Roll, and directed a homophobic slur at a board member's 14-year-old son, according to the documents.
Syan, 40, has been ordered to vacate her mother Sue-Maree Olsen's luxury Darling Point flat after years of conflict with neighbouring residents
A man caught on Syan's peephole camera in the corridor. She posted videos of her neighbours on social media, sometimes accompanied by wild allegations
Former friends, who told the Daily Mail they were no longer in contact with her, said Yoshida-Olsen claimed she inherited the apartment from her grandparents and owned it outright.
In reality, apart from ordering her to vacate, Justice Sirtes dismissed her civil suit and upheld Easthaven's counterclaim, also ruling that the company could sell Sue-Maree Olsen's shares.
The sale of the shares had been in limbo since last year, when 41 members of the Easthaven board voted to revoke Sue-Maree's membership.
Yoshida-Olsen's future address - and potential new neighbours - remains unclear.
She previously worked as an assistant to colourful former barrister Charles Waterstreet, described herself as a law graduate, and even claimed to friends that Waterstreet was her 'godfather'.
She posted notes on neighbours' doors and the building's noticeboard, filled with complaints, accusations and conspiracy theories
Syan's waterfront flat became a source of controversy, with residents complaining she stored belongings in shared areas and left bags of rotting rubbish in the corridors
Waterstreet, who inspired Richard Roxburgh's character on ABC TV's Rake, is not believed to be Yoshida-Olsen's real godfather, but rather a mentor and guide.
Yoshida-Olsen previously worked as an in-house lawyer for tech executive Matt Barrie at Freelancer.com, and spent three years with Waterstreet, saying she was 'kind of like an associate to a judge, assisting in all legal matters'.
In his ruling, Justice Sirtes described Yoshida-Olsen's 'usual complaints', aired in her 'acrimonious battle' with Easthaven residents, as including 'property embezzlement, fraud, perjury, bribery, conspiracy, money laundering, title fraud, forgery, impersonation, surveillance and insider trading'.
He also cited her 'conspiracy theories' and videos posted to her social media accounts.
These included one targeting Alison McClymont, the journalist and producer who lived next door in Flat 53 and who, per the judgement, complained about the trail of glue in the corridor and trolleys, sometimes three at a time, left outside her door.
One video, showing McClymont talking in the corridor, was filmed by Yoshida-Olsen's doorway peephole camera and posted online.
After being shouted at by Syan, the man retreated down the corridor and spoke with another resident on the fifth floor of the Easthaven building at Darling Point
According to the judge, Syan's mother Sue-Maree believed her daughter 'could do no wrong' and thought other female residents retaliated out of jealousy of her 'beauty'
The video referenced a conspiracy claiming connections between Alison McClymont, Woollahra Council officer Judy McClymont, and Nine investigative journalist Kate McClymont.
Kate and Alison are sisters, but, as recorded in the judgement, Yoshida-Olsen alleged more sinister links, suggesting 'gifting and bribery' involving the council's McClymont.
Hearings into the dispute between Sue-Maree Olsen and Easthaven were held from February to April this year.
As the plaintiff in the original suit, Sue-Maree Olsen testified, but Justice Sirtes found she 'refused to accept that her daughter had engaged in the conduct alleged by others at Easthaven'.
'In her view, her daughter could do no wrong, and she blamed Easthaven residents for targeting Yoshida-Olsen in retaliation,' he said.
According to Sue-Maree, one motive for the alleged retaliation was her daughter's beauty, with other female residents becoming angry because she was a 'beautiful young lady'.
A post on Syan's Instagram page, where she claims to have been victimised by others during her years living in her mother's luxury Darling Point flat
Rambling notes were posted on neighbours' doors and the building's noticeboard, with Syan alleging corruption and misuse of funds
Justice Sirtes said he 'had real concerns about (Sue-Maree Olsen's) credibility', describing some of her evidence as 'incoherent' and stating that she was 'reckless as to her duty to give accurate and honest evidence'.
He also found that Yoshida-Olsen was 'more willing… to make frank and direct admissions against interest', but noted that 'she appeared to be focused on defending, minimising or outright denying most of the complaints laid against her.
'This significantly undermined the reliability of her testimony. She was frequently non-responsive to questions and pedantic to the point of being obstructionist.'
He gave examples, such as when asked, 'Was there a period of time after 2021 when both you and your mother were living in unit 54?', she replied, 'How do you define living?'
Yoshida-Olsen then went on to say, 'The definition of living, it's a very vague and broad meaning term, and I couldn't answer that for you definitely on the record, because it is such a broad defined, broadly defined word.'
When asked if her mobile phone number was a certain number, she replied, 'I recognise most of the numbers in that consecutive order. However, the first four I can't guarantee [are] true and correct.'
Yoshida-Olsen has until mid-November to vacate Flat 54. The Daily Mail has contacted her to ask if she intends to appeal the decision set out in Justice Sirtes's very lengthy judgement.
As he noted in its introduction, 'Darling Point is a prized peninsula on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour.
'It offers parks and water views to those lucky enough to live there. But as this case shows, none of it guarantees harmony among those who share this amenity.'
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