"Will stab you in the neck"... Cat mom threats, unusual prosecution leading to imprisonment

Cat Taken Hostage and Victim Directly Threatened
Suspended Sentence for Man in His 20s
Still Difficult to Punish Cat Hostage Threats

Photo by Animal Rights Action Kara

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A man accused of leaving murder threat letters on the food bowls of stray cats for several months was sentenced to probation. Although an animal rights organization has been involved in animal abuse-related lawsuits for years, this is the first case where a cat caretaker (cat mom) was convicted for being threatened. However, it remains difficult to punish cases where cats are taken hostage for threats.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Jeong Cheolmin) sentenced A (29) to six months in prison with one year of probation on the morning of the 22nd for charges of intimidation.

A is accused of threatening a cat mom 16 times by leaving notes on the food bowls of stray cats in Hangang Park, Mapo-gu, from August last year to January this year.

The content of the notes left by A primarily involved threats using stray cats as hostages. Messages included statements such as “The reason the stray cats are getting chopped up and dying is because of you b******’s actions,” and “I sincerely want to hit and kill you.” To the cat mom, he wrote increasingly severe threats like “If you dare to take legal action or anything because they are living beings, I will lie in wait and kill you with a blunt weapon,” “I will get rid of you too, already purchased a weapon,” and “Cat mom, you are stubborn, but if you want a knife fight, keep going! I will stab you in the neck.”

The court did not view this case simply as a matter of threats against a person. Presiding Judge Jeong defined the case as “The defendant threatened the victims, who are cat moms, 16 times with the intent to harm them or not leave them alone if they did not stop feeding the stray cats.”

Considering the nature and frequency of the threats, the court acknowledged the seriousness of the crime but explained the sentencing by stating, “The defendant is a university student and a first-time offender who is reflecting on his wrongdoing. He committed the acts after his father, who is battling blood cancer, complained of suffering due to the stray cats’ meowing.”

Animal rights group Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) pointed out that the court ruling did not mention the victim’s pain and fear, stating, “The place where the victim was threatened with murder is a remote area of Hangang Park, far from the defendant’s residence, so recognizing the stray cats’ meowing as a mitigating factor in sentencing is not appropriate.”

It is considered unusual for probation to be given for threatening a cat mom. In the past year, there has been only one case where a cat mom was prosecuted and punished for threats. Even that case involved carrying a dangerous object, a golf club, and was sentenced with a fine for ‘special intimidation.’

It remains difficult to punish cases where cats are taken hostage to threaten cat moms. According to Supreme Court precedents, for a threat to a third party’s legal interest to constitute intimidation, “the victim and the third party must have a close relationship, and the threat must be of a nature that causes fear to the victim.” However, the third party must be a person, and since cats are legally considered ‘objects,’ it is difficult to establish the crime. Additionally, since cat moms do not own the stray cats, it is hard to prove a close relationship with the cats.

Han Jae-eon, a lawyer at Animal Freedom Union, said, “This sentence appears to be based on threats directed at the cat mom herself. It would have been difficult to prove threats involving cats as hostages.”