Conviction quashed, jail term cut in cat cruelty case

A man convicted of torturing a cat to death had his name cleared on appeal, while a second man had his sentence reduced by four months in the High Court yesterday.

Yeung Kiu-yue, 26, and So Pak-lam, 22, were found to have been part of a gang that kicked a cat "like a soccer ball" on a Kwun Tong estate on November 16, 2012. A magistrate jailed them for 16 months in Kwun Tong Court in January.

But Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah yesterday found that the evidence failed to show Yeung was present at the scene, and quashed his conviction and sentence. He also found So's sentence to be too severe compared with cases of a similar nature.

Mark Mak Chi-ho, executive chairman of the Non-Profit-Making Veterinary Service Society, said he was disappointed by the decision. "Over the years, I've heard many judges dealing with animal cruelty cases describing them as extremely serious. But they still passed a sentence much lower than the maximum term of three years," Mak said. "I don't know how serious it's got to be."

So and Yeung were seen among a group of five to six people who kicked the cat in a corridor of Tin Chi House, Shun Tin Estate, Kwun Tong. The cat had to be put down the next day.

Also part of the group was Kong Ka-man, 18, who escaped jail because of her age. She was sentenced instead to a drug addiction treatment centre for an unspecified period after the case exposed her narcotics abuse.