Blue Chicken and a Dying Cat... "Stop the Salt Cat Man in Sintanjin" 청 Petition

Chicken coated with rat poison found near an abandoned house in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon on the 13th of last month. Photo by Dongmulgujo119 Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] A petition has appeared on the Blue House National Petition Board demanding strict punishment for the culprit after rat poison-laced chicken and cat carcasses were found in the Daejeon Daedeok-gu area for over 10 years.

On the 22nd of last month, a petition titled "Please stop the Shintanjin Cat Killer who has been killing cats for over 10 years" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner opened by saying, "This is a petition regarding the cat killing spree that has been happening in the Shintanjin area of Daejeon City for over 10 years," and added, "This time, we can catch (the culprit)."

He continued, "For several years, most of the stakeouts and evidence collection at the crime scenes have been carried out not by the police but by members of the local Cat Protection Association and nationwide animal protection groups," and claimed, "The police's lukewarm investigation and the prosecution's light punishments such as simple fines and non-prosecution due to insufficient evidence have only taught the cat killer through complaints, making him find places to kill cats more intelligently."

The petitioner also reported that even recently, cat carcasses and rat poison-laced chicken have been witnessed. He stated, "At around 5:20 p.m. on the 13th of last month, a cat carcass was found in an abandoned house located in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon Metropolitan City," and added, "Blue chicken pieces spread on a pile of garbage next to the abandoned house wall were discovered."

He further explained, "A few meters inside from the blue chicken with bite marks, a cat was lying cold," and said, "The police took away the rat poison-laced chicken and the dead cat."

Cat carcass found near chicken contaminated with poison. Photo by Animal Rescue 119 Facebook capture

The petitioner testified, "The security CCTV on the road in front of the abandoned house surely captured a person entering the abandoned house, especially the vehicle of the cat killer who has been cruelly killing cats using the same method," and said, "I have requested the detective in charge of checking the CCTV from April 8 to April 12."

He then questioned, "I want to ask the police, prosecution, city hall, district office, and city council members. Do you really think such crimes are light and insignificant?" and appealed, "Since investigations and punishments have not been properly carried out from 2015 until now, the culprit has continued to commit these crimes while only receiving fines. I sincerely hope that this time a strong investigation will be conducted."

The petition had received about 49,900 supporters as of 8 a.m. on the 7th.

In 2018, a man in his 70s, Mr. A, who killed about 1,000 stray cats in Daejeon, was caught by the police but was not prosecuted because no carcasses were found at the scene. Animal Rescue 119 claimed that Mr. A usually bought about 7 to 8 raw chickens at a time, mixed them with rat poison, and spread them around the neighborhood. At that time, the police stated that although Mr. A admitted his wrongdoing, they could not punish him for animal cruelty under the Animal Protection Act because no cat carcasses were found at the scene.