Students charged after cat abuse video shared on social media
Two male college students were charged with offences against the Animal Protection Act after one of them uploaded a video showing the other abusing a pet cat, yesterday, October 28.
The 20-second-long video filmed by a Taiwanese student named Chen, showed his fellow student, of Chinese nationality, named Lin, biting the tail of an American shorthaired cat. After the cat responds by hissing and kicking back, Lin then slaps the cat on the head, throws it to the ground, and stomps on it.
Chen uploaded the video to Instagram briefly, before taking it down after friends pointed out that the content of the video was an act of animal cruelty.
However, by the time Chen removed the video, it had already been copied, and quickly appeared on a cat lover’s Facebook group. The video quickly went viral, generating the outrage of viewers.
Taichung City police received reports from the public about the two students of Asia University. Police went to Lin’s apartment with animal protection workers, who took the cat away for its own protection.
Lin and Chen were taken to the police station and questioned, before being transferred to the District Prosecutor’s Office to be formally charged.
Chen and Lin both expressed regret about the incident. Lin said that he was just playing with his cat, and didn’t think it was so serious at the time.
Asia University released a three-point statement today saying that the school deeply regrets the incident involving its students, will fully investigate the incident, and will strengthen “life education,” undertake a psychological assessment, and provide counseling for the students.
Warning: Video below contains animal cruelty that may be upsetting to some viewers.
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