A woman in her 20s from Uzbekistan has been referred to prosecutors on charges of animal abuse after allegedly throwing a cat out of a window to its death.
The Gimhae Jungbu Police Station forwarded the case against the woman, identified only as A, to prosecutors without seeking her detention on charges including violation of the Animal Protection Act, according to JTBC on Monday.
A is accused of throwing a cat from a fifth-floor window at her residence in Daeseong-dong, Gimhae, on July 11, killing the animal.
Investigators found that A had contacted a temporary caretaker, identified as B, after seeing a social media post seeking a new owner for the cat. B visited A's home to complete the adoption but decided to cancel after determining the living environment was unsuitable.
At that point, A asked B to leave the cat with her for just one day. After B agreed and left, A threw the cat out the window. A acknowledged the charges during police questioning.
An animal welfare group, the Busan Street Cat Protection Alliance, visited A's home after learning of the incident to check on another cat she had been keeping.
When members of the group found no cat inside and asked about its whereabouts, A reportedly told them she had thrown that cat out the window as well. The group believes there may be additional incidents.
"A treated young kittens like toys — whenever she grew tired of them or disliked them, she would habitually and mercilessly throw them out the window without a second thought, taking their lives," the group said. "Four cats have been confirmed so far. We believe more animals may have been killed."
Based on these findings, the group filed a complaint with police against A on Saturday on charges including violation of the Animal Protection Act. Police said they plan to investigate the full circumstances of the case, including the additional allegations.
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