HK cat abusers sentenced to 16 months in jail

(ECNS) -- Two men have been sentenced to 16 months in prison in Hong Kong for abusing a stray cat last November, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Friday.

The attack took place at the Shun Tin housing estate in Kwun Tong, where witnesses reported seeing a group of people kicking the cat like a football while others looked on and laughed. The attack left the stray with severe internal injuries. It had to be euthanized a day later.

Two of the three accused, So Pak-lam, 23, and Yeung Kiu-yue, 26, have been sentenced to a year and four months in jail.

Another woman accused of taking part in the abuse, Kong Ka-man, 18, will be sentenced later pending a drug rehabilitation report.

In a separate animal cruelty case in Hong Kong, an old man who poisoned a stray dog was sentenced to two months in jail.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Hong Kong applauded the severity of the punishment for the two men, but said that Hong Kong's "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance" was outdated, and that local law enforcement agencies didn't do enough to protect animals from being tortured.

In the period between December 2012 and December 2013, the society received 885 reports of animal cruelty, but nearly half of those cases were not investigated due to a lack of evidence.