"Threw" vs "Jumped Down": The Mystery of the Cat Falling from the 16th Floor Apartment [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

A cat fell from the hallway on the 16th floor of an apartment building, and the owner has been prosecuted for violating the Animal Protection Act but strongly denies the charges. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A cat fell from the 16th-floor corridor of an apartment. People gathered, saddened by the sight of the cat slowly losing its life. Even after about 30 minutes, the cat’s owner did not appear, and another citizen covered the cat with a cloth.

At that moment, a 10-year-old elementary school student shouted, pointing at a woman in her 40s, Ms. A, who was standing among the crowd. "That person killed the cat!" Ms. A responded, "I didn’t throw it!" and struck the student’s hand.

The incident occurred on the evening of July 14, 2020, in an apartment complex in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. The prosecution indicted Ms. A on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act and assault for throwing the cat over the railing causing its death and hitting the elementary school student. The cat was a stray that Ms. A had brought from an adoption center about five hours before the accident.

On the other hand, Ms. A consistently denied the charges. She claimed that the cat escaped from her home within an hour and a chase ensued in the corridor. When she reached out to catch the cat that had climbed onto the railing, it jumped down.

After the first trial was held in April last year, Chief Judge Shin Hyukjae of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4 conducted four additional hearings to hear testimonies from several witnesses in court.

On the 29th of last month, resident B, who had watched Ms. A from across the street, appeared in court.

Judge: Witness, is it difficult to recall the accident scene?

Witness : I couldn’t sleep for several days straight.

Judge : Even though it’s painful, you need to tell us. What actions did you see?

Witness : (The defendant) looked down and reached out her arm. (…) The cat was floating in the air but looked at its owner as it fell.

Mr. B testified that Ms. A did not appear immediately after the accident and seemed to show no change in expression. He also claimed that the bus stop where the cat fell was about 50 meters away from the apartment, a location that could not be reached without someone throwing the cat forcefully. The prosecutor requested a fine of 1 million won for Ms. A.

However, Ms. A’s defense attorney argued that since the prosecutor and witnesses did not witness the situation directly at the time, there was ample room for misunderstanding. The attorney said, "Due to a center error, the originally planned gentle cat for adoption was given to someone else, and given the nature of such a stray cat, it was not a situation where it could be easily caught and thrown."

They also explained that although Ms. A could not go down immediately, she was making emergency calls in the order of 112, 119, and the district office. The attorney pointed out that witness testimonies about how Ms. A reached out her hand were somewhat inconsistent.

The defense admitted that hitting the elementary school student was wrong but claimed it was at the level of a light flick. They argued that Ms. A did not strongly hit the student’s left ear with her hand as the prosecutor claimed. Furthermore, they appealed, "The defendant has no issues in social life and is a first-time offender with no criminal record. She is not someone who would throw a cat to kill it out of anger."

In her final statement, Ms. A said, "I am truly sorry to the child and the parents who were hurt just by me touching the child." She added, "I was reckless because I had no knowledge about cats. I didn’t know it would run away like that." She said, "I was scared and my legs went weak, so I couldn’t go down immediately and kept making emergency calls," and added, "I am sorry to the dead cat. (Even after the funeral) I keep thinking about the cat’s appearance. But I really did not throw it."

Chief Judge Shin concluded the proceedings that day and set the sentencing date for the 26th of next month.