CHONBURI — A woman was given a suspended sentence of six months in jail for abusing her puppy, an animal rights organization announced Friday.
Watchdog Thailand announced that the defendant, who was filmed hitting a pitbull puppy in a viral video, was found guilty by the Chonburi Provincial Court for animal cruelty. She was fined 10,000 baht and given a 6-month prison term, but the punishment was suspended.
“She said she was trying to discipline the puppy, but it’s over the line so it’s animal abuse. If a psychologist examined her, they would find that she is emotionally unstable,” a spokeswoman from Watchdog said by phone Friday. “We asked the police and the prosecutor to [pursue the matter] to the full extent of the law.”
The sentence was suspended because she confessed. She must also complete 24 hours of community service and be on parole for a year.
On Monday, a video circulating online showed Facebook user Reya Isler, who reportedly works as a manicurist, slamming a sack of fertilizer onto her eight-month-old pitbull dog, then beating its face with shoes. Another person also pushed the dog’s head into a bowl of water.
The dog, called Nomyen, can be heard whimpering in fear and not fighting back at all.
The dog has since been under the care of Watchdog Thailand, and he will be placed in a public dog shelter in Chonburi. Nomyen was not injured and seemed to be cheerful, Watchdog said.
The suspect’s name was not released to the media, though the accusers identified her as a transgender woman. Watchdog Thailand said it would also file cybercrime charges against the suspect’s friend who was seen harming the dog in the video.
