A man who was seen hitting his Border Collie outside McDonald’s in Newport back in June has pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty offence.
Huaqiu Chen, 25, of Edgware Road in Westminster pleaded guilty to 1 count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when he appeared in front of Magistrates on Friday (23rd September).
As previously reported by Island Echo, a man was arrested on St James’ Street in Newport on 3rd June after a dog – a Border Collie – was seen being hit and beaten outside McDonald’s.
Liz Miller, prosecuting told the court, that the Police received a call from a concerned member of the public stating that a Chinese and an English man were fighting over a dog.
It was reported that Chen was hitting the dog with excessive force, with concerned members of the public outside the fast-food chain shouting at Chen to stop hitting the defenceless animal.
In multiple witness statements read to the court during proceedings it was stated that Chen was seen hitting the dog 4/5 times with an open hand and that he also grabbed the dog’s head and pushed it to the ground. He was also seen shaking the dog in frustration.
He was asked by multiple people at the scene why he was hitting the dog, to which Chen replied, “you have no evidence of what I’ve done”.
When the dog was seized by Police it was found that it also had an untreated wound on one of its paws. In a Police interview, Chen stated that the injury was sustained as a result of the dog getting hold of a knife at his home and stabbing himself.
Defending Chen, his solicitor said that the Border Collie was running into the road with Chen having to restrain it. The dog continued to do so multiple times leading to Chen using excessive force -something his solicitor said he admits was the case. He also said that instead of hitting the dog with open hands, Chen was just gently slapping it.
He added that the 25-year-old quantitative analyst had spent over £2,000 on the dog’s veterinary fees and that he had not been able to sleep since the incident suffering from anxiety and stress as a result.
The case was adjourned until 18th October at Westminster Magistrates Court in order to allow a pre-sentence report to be compiled.
Hope they throw the book at him & justice is made under FinnsLaw2
Oh poor little victim, he’s been unable to sleep due to anxiety after beating the heck out of a poor animal. I’d like to see him locked up for good. What are the chances of that….
You would like to see someone locked up for the rest of his life for hitting a dog, Actually, and 44 users of this site agree? Blimey, what a strange world.
What a total waste of space,hits something that can’t fight back !! give him to a few dog owners armed with baseball bats ,make him suffer !!
His solicitor said he was trying to stop the dog running into the road !!!!
A very poor excuse when there was so many witnesses , I know who I believe and it’s not a cruel evil scumbag hurting a defenceless dog, and as for the dog getting a knife and stabbing itself how ridiculous, ….
Hope it the scumbag gets what it deserves ,I know what I would like to do with it .
Hope the poor dog has been loved and looked after .
Had I personally witnessed this barbaric act of animal cruelty no doubt you’d be reading the headline ” Attempted Murder in Defense of Defenceless Dog” or something along those lines. I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to exact my own punishment to anyone who thinks they can brutalised animals. Animal cruelty is on a par with all kinds of child abuse and every sickening crime that’s out there.
Not sure comparing animal cruelty to child abuse is a justified response?
Would you treat your family pet any differently to your children? Care, compassion and ultimately LOVE is not diviseable. Both parties deserve the same level of respect.
What a horrible person.
When the dog was seized by Police it was found that it also had an untreated wound on one of its paws. In a Police interview, Chen stated that the injury was sustained as a result of the dog getting hold of a knife at his home and stabbing himself?? The dog stabbed himself?
Give him 4 to 5 slaps and see how he likes it
Yes, with a piece of two by four…
I suppose his solicitor couldn’t sleep at night after giving stupid excuses for his client.