The Kaohsiung District Court last week sentenced six people to jail for in 2021 attempting to smuggle 154 cats to Taiwan from China, in a case that stirred controversy as the cats were euthanized, with the authorities citing infectious disease concerns.
The court said seafood wholesaler Cheng Chang-chia (鄭常嘉), former coast guard officer Chang Fang-yi (張芳溢) and his assistant, Kuo Min-hao (郭閔豪), breached the Smuggling Penalty Act (懲治走私條例).
It sentenced them to jail for between one year, two months and one year, eight months, saying they were the “masterminds” behind the operation.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Lin Cheng-lung (林政龍), who operated a licensed pet breeding business in Kaohsiung at the time of the smuggling operation, was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, in addition to 180 hours of community service and a fine of NT$300,000. His prison term can be commuted to a four-year suspended sentence.
Lin was given a lighter sentence, as he cooperated with the investigation, the court said.
The chief engineer of the boat used in the operation, surnamed Kao (高), was sentenced to eight months in jail, while the captain, surnamed Lin (林), was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Kao’s and captain Lin’s prison terms can be commuted to two-year suspended sentences, as the court found that they were not involved in planning the operation.
The case was reported on Aug. 21, 2021, two days after coast guard officers found the 154 cats in 62 cages on the fishing boat off Tainan’s Anping District (安平).
The cats, most of them purebreed Russian blues, ragdolls, exotic shorthairs or British shorthairs, were euthanized over fears they might have rabies, a disease that is endemic in China, but has never been reported in cats in Taiwan.
The boat’s skipper told prosecutors that he was hired by Chang to smuggle the cats for a daily wage of NT$3,000, the court said.
Chang asked him to meet a Chinese vessel in international waters off Penghu County, where its crew would transfer the cats to his boat, it added.
His statement led to the arrests of Chang and Kuo at a private residence in Kaohsiung, the court said.
Cheng backed the operation financially, including renting the ship for NT$150,000 a month, it said.
Chang organized the route, while Kuo outfitted the boat with air-conditioned compartments for the cages, it said.
Chang also briefed the crew on what to do in case coast guard officers inspect their boat, the court said.
The verdict can be appealed.
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