Woman to do community service for abusing pet cat
2014/02/24 16:38:43
(From Lin's Facebook page)
Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) A college student who was harshly criticized for punishing her cat by putting it in a plastic container last December was ordered on Monday to do 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a charge of cruelty to animals.
The Taichung District Prosecutors' Office decided to defer prosecution of the case for one year rather than indict her after finding that she "deeply regretted" her behavior.
It means the Providence University student won't face formal charges unless she violates the Animal Protection Act again during the next year.
The girl, surnamed Lin, caused an outcry after posting photos of her pet cat "Kiki" in a plastic bottle on Facebook last December. She did it as a punishment for the pet's misbehavior, she said in her post.
The news caught international attention, with several media outlets, including the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom, reporting the story and her cavalier attitude toward the incident.
Lin did not take the backlash seriously until prosecutors informed her that she had violated the Animal Protection Act.
After the woman subsequently showed remorse for her action, the prosecutors' office agreed to defer prosecution but required her to do 40 hours of community service over the next nine months and put her on probation for one year.
(By Chen Ching-ping and Aileen Chuang)
