A man was on Friday found partially eaten by the stray dogs he kept in his apartment in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) after passing away about a week earlier, police said.
The corpse of the 54-year-old man, surnamed Peng (彭), had apparently been gnawed by the 16 dogs he kept, with the flesh on both of his arms and right leg completely chewed off, police said.
Peng had been living in the apartment — registered in his brother’s name — since being diagnosed with diabetes 10 years ago, Peng’s relatives said, adding that Peng had to undergo dialysis three times per week.
Peng’s brother said that while he had been responsible for Peng’s expenses, he ran into financial difficulties at the beginning of this year, so Peng applied for emergency care funds at the Sindian District Office.
Peng’s brother said he had been giving Peng NT$4,000 per month, with the district office providing another NT$4,000.
Peng’s brother said that he received a call from his brother’s neighbors saying that they had not seen his brother for a long time, adding that the neighbors complained that Peng’s dogs had been barking for days.
Peng’s brother said that after calling Peng for two days without receiving an answer he went to Peng’s apartment on Friday morning, where he found his brother’s body and called the police.
According to preliminary forensic findings, Peng appeared to have passed away a week ago, police said, adding that as there were no signs of a struggle, they were ruling out homicide.
Judging from the spray pattern of blood in the apartment and the wounds on Peng’s body, police said that he was not mauled to death by the stray dogs he kept, but instead was fed on after he passed away.
The Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said that the dogs were extremely malnourished and the apartment was not conducive to raising pets.
The office said it suspects that the dogs were left hungry after Peng passed away and chewed on his body to sustain themselves, adding that they were in the process of moving the animals to shelters in Sindian for screening and disinfection.
“We are also looking into future arrangements for the animals,” the office said.
Peng’s brother said that there were often problems between Peng and his neighbors over the noise and smell of the dogs, adding that he told Peng a number of times not to keep so many dogs, but his brother did not listen.
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