A 23-year-old man who killed his mother’s dog last month by throwing it off the roof of an apartment block has been ordered into a psychiatric hospital for four months.
Hugo Ho Tsz-kwan pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals at West Kowloon Magistrates Court yesterday, Ming Pao reports.
Acting Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee said Ho’s actions had caused unnecessary suffering to the animal and deserved at least six months imprisonment. However, she decided to accept the psychiatric recommendations given Ho’s mental condition.
The court heard that the dog, a male Japanese Spitz named “Siu Bak” — which literally translates to “little white” — had been with the family for 10 years.
The defence said that Ho, who lives with his parents, was annoyed with Siu Bak’s barking and in a fit of rage carried the dog to the roof of the 23-story apartment block in Cheung Sha Wan and threw him off.
The newspaper reported that Siu Bak was killed after he hit the second-floor platform.
Just days earlier, the dog was rescued by marine police after it was spotted in Victoria Harbour near the Harbour City shopping center in Tsim Sha Tsui. It is not clear how the dog ended up in the harbour, but staff from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) returned the dog to the owner following a check on Siu Bak’s identity chip.
In mitigating statements, a lawyer representing Ho said his client was the sole breadwinner of the family as both his parents are retired, and that he only made HK$2,000 to HK$3,000 (US$255 to US$382) a month as a stationery shop salesman.
The lawyer also said that Ho felt remorse for what he had done and wrote a letter to plead for leniency.
Two psychiatric reports obtained by the court earlier said Ho was fit to stand trial and also recommended hospitalization.
According to Ming Pao, Ho’s lawyer said his client accepted the hospital order and hoped the term would commence immediately.
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