The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday found three marines guilty of torturing a dog to death, a violation of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), and handed the three men six-month prison terms, which are commutable to fines.
It was the first ruling in the case and can be appealed.
The incident in June last year involved squad leader Sergeant Chen Yu-tsai (陳祐才) and two privates under his command — Chang Feng-yu (張峰瑜) and Hu Chia-wei (胡家瑋) — of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense Group, which is based at Zuoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung.
Photo: CNA
As Chang and Hu admitted to wrongdoing and cooperated during the investigation, the court suspended their sentences and placed them on probation for two years.
In addition to the jail sentences, the court also imposed fines of NT$150,000 on Chen, NT$130,000 for Chang and NT$225,000 for Hu.
The three men’s terms can be commuted to additional fines, at a rate of NT$1,000 per day.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
An investigation found that there were a number of stray dogs living near the unit’s barracks that were being fed by the soldiers.
Prosecutors said that on June 24 last year, Chen saw one of the dogs, nicknamed “Little White” (小白), wandering in the unit’s exercise yard and reportedly told Chang: “Make Little White disappear, I do not want to see him anymore.”
They added that when Chang asked if that meant killing the dog, Chen told him: “Do what you like, I do not care.”
Chang and Hu then leashed Little White and took him to an embankment near the shore, where they beat the dog with a wooden club and hung him by the leash, prosecutors said.
Chang filmed the incident on his smartphone and circulated the video on social media platform Line among his friends.
One man who was reportedly disgusted by the torture and killing of the animal reported it to local authorities.
News of the incident sparked a public furor.
“Chen was commander of the unit, and his instructions to soldiers to beat the dog to death showed a lack of comprehension about animal protection,” the court said.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS