Hong Kong woman found guilty of trapping her cat in washing machine wins appeal against conviction but could face retrial
- Yuki Wong was sentenced to 80 hours of community service after she posted video of cat in washing machine
- Insurance agent is not off the hook yet as prosecutors consider application for retrial at magistrates’ court
A Hong Kong woman sentenced to community service for trapping her cat in a washing machine has won an appeal against her conviction on the grounds the trial magistrate misapplied the law in disregarding her exculpatory evidence.
But the High Court’s ruling on Tuesday may not mean insurance agent Yuki Wong Yee-ting is in the clear, with prosecutors highlighting the prospect of a retrial.
Wong received 80 hours of community service at Tuen Mun Court in February this year after a magistrate identified the 29-year-old appellant as the one who abused the cat. She was also told to pay HK$27,000 (US$3,454) in medical expenses to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The insurance agent landed herself in court after posting a video on Instagram on February 7 last year, which showed her cat locked inside a spinning washing machine for 14 seconds at her flat in Tin Chak Estate in Tin Shui Wai.
The animal can be seen pressing its muzzle against the transparent lid of the top-loading machine, at which point the machine is opened and the animal immediately leaps out.
The woman laughed off the abuse with a caption claiming it was merely a “prank” played on the animal as it had defecated where it was not supposed to.
Wong told the lower court that a friend called Yan was responsible for the ill-treatment and had subsequently sent the video to her.
