A Man in His 20s Brutally Killed 78 Cats Claiming They Scratched His Car

Sentenced to Imprisonment in the Appeal Trial as Well

A man in his 20s who killed dozens of cats for scratching his car was sentenced to prison again in the appellate court.

The Criminal Division 3-2 of Changwon District Court (Chief Judge Yoon Min) announced on the 26th that it sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 20s tried for violating the Animal Protection Act, to 1 year and 4 months in prison in the combined appellate trial.

Changwon District Court [Image source=Asia Economy DB]

The court explained the sentencing by stating, "The means and methods were extremely cruel, showing little respect for life," but "considering that several mental illnesses and extreme stress seemed to have triggered the crime and that the defendant shows deep remorse."

Mr. A is accused of brutally killing 78 cats in a total of 55 incidents from December 2022 to September last year in Gimhae, Busan, Daegu, and other areas in Gyeongnam Province. It is reported that he developed a hatred toward cats because they scratched his vehicle.

Additionally, it is known that he committed these acts after experiencing stress due to difficulties in interpersonal relationships and employment caused by mental illness.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A even acquired cats from cat adoption websites to carry out the crimes.

He was previously indicted for killing two cats he had adopted in a parking lot in Gimhae City in September last year and had already been sentenced to 8 months in prison. Subsequently, Mr. A was also indicted for killing an additional 76 cats during the crime period using similar methods and was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison last April.

At that time, the first trial court stated, "The means and methods were so cruel that it is difficult to describe, treating the lives of innocent cats as if they were colored paper."