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Hong Kong Polytechnic University student Yu Ling Ke animal cruelty case

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Hong Kong Polytechnic University Student Animal Cruelty Case


From kong.news on Threads

Key Details
Location Whampoa Garden, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Species Involved Cats
Type of Abuse Physical harm
Timeline
Date of Incident July 8, 2024
Date Discovered July 8, 2024
Date Closed September 19, 2025
Status & Outcome
Case Status Perpetrator convicted and sentenced to 5 months in prison.
Perpetrator Yu Ling Ke (余令科)
Aftermath Widespread attention and condemnation
Convicted cat abuser


Defendant Yu. Photo credit: 王仁昌

Name Yu Ling Ke (余令科)
Age 22 (at time of offense)
Occupation University Graduate (Finance and Accounting)
Known Identifiers ID and Phone(s) on record
Status Convicted
Involvement Fatally abused his roommate's Ragdoll cat by repeatedly kicking it.
Punitive Measure Sentenced to five months' imprisonment for animal cruelty.

Yu Ling Ke (余令科) is a mainland Chinese university graduate who was convicted of animal cruelty in Hong Kong and sentenced to five months in prison in a case that drew significant public attention.[1] The case is notable for the stark paradox between the perpetrator's profile as a "high-achieving" student from a good background and the extreme, fatal violence of his act.[2] The magistrate's firm judicial response and refusal to accept the defendant's status as a mitigating factor set a significant legal precedent.[3]

Perpetrator profile

At the time of the offense, Yu Ling Ke was a 22-year-old from Wuhan, mainland China, who came from a good family with no prior criminal record.[1] He was a high-achieving student who had been invited to study at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), where he completed a degree in Finance and Accounting.[2] His defense counsel stated that after the incident, he began suffering from insomnia and was diagnosed with a sleep disorder following psychological counseling.[1] This diagnosis was presented as a consequence of the stress from his arrest and prosecution, not as a pre-existing condition.[1]

The offense

On July 8, 2024, the cat's owner, who was Yu's roommate, left their shared apartment in Whampoa Garden, Kowloon, only to return moments later for a forgotten wallet.[1] As he approached, he heard a loud noise and, peering through the metal gate, witnessed Yu Ling Ke brutally kicking his Ragdoll cat's abdomen.[1] The owner saw Yu deliver two separate kicks with such force that the cat was sent flying across the room, colliding with a dryer.[2] The owner immediately confronted Yu and called the police. The cat was rushed to a veterinarian by the SPCA but was later pronounced dead.[1]

Yu's stated motive was frustration over the cat urinating and defecating inappropriately in the apartment.[2] This trivial annoyance stood in stark contrast to his violent, fatal response, indicating a catastrophic failure of impulse control and emotional regulation.[1]

Court proceedings and judicial response

During the court case (KCCC3027/2024), Yu's defense attempted to minimize his actions, initially telling Magistrate Philip Chan Chee-fai that their client had merely "used his foot to touch the cat."[2] The magistrate, having read the eyewitness account, sharply rebuked this characterization, stating, "Then there's no need to read the report. He has no remorse, he still insists on denying it."[2] Only after a 15-minute recess did the defense return with a narrative of profound regret, claiming Yu was "heartbroken." This sequence strongly suggested the remorse was performative and adopted only after the initial strategy of denial had failed.[2]

In his final judgment, Magistrate Chan delivered a powerful condemnation of Yu's actions. He dismissed the defense's arguments and based his sentence on three pillars:

  1. The Inherent Wrongness of the Act: He described the behavior as "absolutely intolerable in a civilized society" and "against human nature."[4]
  2. The Need for Deterrence: Noting a rise in animal cruelty cases, he stated the court "must impose a deterrent sentence" to send a clear message to the public.[5]
  3. Rejection of Social Status as Mitigation: He explicitly stated that "the severity of the offense outweighed the defendant's personal background."[3] This affirmed the principle that academic achievement does not provide a shield against accountability for cruelty.

Yu Ling Ke was sentenced to five months in prison.[1]

Institutional and regional context

Despite having explicit "Regulations on Student Discipline" that address misconduct which undermines the university's reputation, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University made no public statement regarding the conviction of its student.[6]

The five-month prison sentence is significant when compared to more lenient outcomes in other jurisdictions in the region. In several animal poisoning cases in Taiwan, for example, defendants received suspended sentences, with one appellate court ruling that an owner's negligence in letting dogs roam freely was a mitigating factor for the person who poisoned them.[7] In contrast, the Hong Kong court explicitly rejected any blame-shifting, focusing solely on the inherent cruelty of the perpetrator's actions.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 (September 19, 2025). "理大內地生腳踢室友所養布偶貓殘酷對待動物罪成今判監5個月", Hong Kong Animal Post. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://hkanimalpost.com/2025/09/19/09192/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 (September 19, 2025). "涉腳踢室友布偶貓理大生殘待動物罪成判囚5個月准保釋候上訴", The Witness. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://thewitnesshk.com/%E6%B6%89%E8%85%B3%E8%B8%A2%E5%AE%A4%E5%8F%8B%E5%B8%83%E5%81%B6%E8%B2%93-%E7%90%86%E5%A4%A7%E7%94%9F%E6%AE%98%E5%BE%85%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9%E7%BD%AA%E6%88%90%E5%88%A4%E5%9B%9A5%E5%80%8B%E6%9C%88/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (September 19, 2025). "Mainland student jailed after brutally kicking roommate's cat", The Standard (HK). Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://www.thestandard.com.hk/hong-kong-news/article/312030/Mainland-student-jailed-after-brutally-kicking-roommates-cat
  4. ↑ (September 19, 2025). "理大內地生涉虐貓 認兩度腳踢室友布偶貓 官斥殘暴不仁判囚5月", HK01. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://www.hk01.com/社會新聞/1059582/理大內地生涉虐貓-認兩度腳踢室友布偶貓-官斥殘暴不仁判囚5月
  5. ↑ (September 19, 2025). "理大內地生腳踢室友所養布偶貓殘酷對待動物罪成今判監5個月", Yahoo News Hong Kong. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://hk.news.yahoo.com/%E7%90%86%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7%94%9F%E8%85%B3%E8%B8%A2%E5%AE%A4%E5%8F%8B%E6%89%80%E9%A4%8A%E5%B8%83%E5%81%B6%E8%B2%93-%E6%AE%98%E9%85%B7%E5%B0%8D%E5%BE%85%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9%E7%BD%AA%E6%88%90%E4%BB%8A%E5%88%A4%E7%9B%A35%E5%80%8B%E6%9C%88-121714882.html
  6. ↑ "Regulations on Student Discipline", The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/staff/publications/university-calendar/regulations/regulations-on-student-discipline/
  7. ↑ "《死了兩次的動物:法官為何輕判毒殺犯?》", Taiwan Animal Equality Association. Retrieved September 20, 2025from https://taeanimal.org.tw/model_action.php?sn=312
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