Korean man sentenced to jail time, P100k fine for killing dog

A Korean man who stabbed a dog to death in Malate, Manila in March 2024 was found guilty of animal cruelty by a Manila court, it was reported on Wednesday.

According to a statement over the weekend, Jung Seongho was convicted after several months in a legal battle supported by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

In a court decision on November 12, Jung was found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” after evidence and witnesses stated that he attacked an aspin dog named Erica who belonged to a restaurant last March.

Aspins are mongrel free-ranging dogs found all over the Philippines.

Using a kitchen knife from the restaurant, Jung stabbed Erica “several times causing (the dog’s) eventual death”.

The Korean citizen said he was bitten by a stray dog and went to a nearby restaurant to clean his wounds. At the premises, Jung said another dog began barking at him, prompting him to grab a knife and fatally stabbing the animal five times.

Jung, who is married to a Filipina, was nabbed and jailed by authorities after witnesses conducted a citizen’s arrest.

The suspect pleaded not guilty to both charges of animal cruelty and alleged unlawful possession of a kitchen knife.

While he was acquitted of charges for carrying a kitchen knife outside his place of residence, Jung was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and fined P100,000 for animal cruelty.

"Thanks to the quick action of witnesses who executed a ‘citizen’s arrest’ and then called authorities right after the stabbing incident, the Jung was immediately arrested and jailed prior to the formal hearings... Erica’s case underscores the importance of quickly calling law enforcement officers on top of just taking a video of the crime for posting on social media or as evidence," read the statement.

Erica was a stray dog who was adopted by the restaurant as a pet during the pandemic in 2021.—Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News