Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Legal challenge to inaction in prosecuting suspects in animal torture case

Legal challenge to inaction in prosecuting suspects in animal torture case

Pang Lok-sze’s counsel Kim McCoy says Department of Justice’s decision not to prosecute the two suspects in the case was unlawful and tainted by procedural impropriety.

A woman who had adopted one of 30 animals believed to have been dropped from a Hong Kong building on Valentine’s Day has mounted a legal challenge over authorities’ controversial decision not to prosecute the two men who had turned themselves in over the incident.

Pang Lok-sze on Monday applied for a judicial review, after finding the British short-haired cat she had adopted on September 3 and named Potter was one of the 12 animals to survive from the alleged fall at Hong Kong Garden housing estate, near Sham Tseng, on February 14. The 18 other animals died.

Preliminary investigations, as cited in Pang’s High Court filing, suggested the animals – which also included birds and rodents – were once housed in a fifth-floor flat of the estate, where police found pet cages and feeding appliances.

A secondary school teacher and a merchant, both 49, surrendered to police days after the incident, while the surviving animals were treated by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA), which then identified the likely cause of death and injury as falling from height, the writ said.

But the Department of Justice confirmed on September 2 that it would not prosecute the two suspects as the evidence did not support a reasonable prospect of conviction, based on its “objective and professional assessment of the available evidence and the applicable law”.

The decision had irked many animal lovers, sparked outrage among animal rights’ groups and raised questions over whether relevant laws should be reviewed.

Pang is now seeking to quash that decision.

Her counsel Kim McCoy said that the decision was tainted by procedural impropriety, and therefore unlawful, as it was presumably made and communicated after the six-month statutory time limit for prosecutors to bring criminal charges under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance.

McCoy argued that the director of public prosecutions had a duty to decide within the time limit whether to bring charges, as well as to communicate that decision, so others like his client who had an interest in the outcome could take further action, such as mounting private prosecution.

That duty to communicate in time was particularly important in animal abuse cases where the victim, unlike a human, was not in a position to take part in investigations, he said.

The counsel also observed that non-prosecution would not only fail to deter, but would encourage perpetrators to continue to harm animals.

“The prevalence of incidents of animal cruelty in Hong Kong has seen an unfortunate increase in the past few years,” he wrote in a 54-page application.

“It is high time the DPP [director of public prosecutions] is held to close scrutiny to step up efforts to combat animal cruelty so as to enable our society as a whole to protect innocent and extremely vulnerable members of our community.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×