A Russian couple witnessed the horrific abuse of a cat by a police officer in Phuket, southern Thailand. While walking down a street in Phuket, the couple saw a man torturing a cat, and they filmed the scene and shared it on social media. Many criticized and condemned this act.
The Facebook page "Phuket Information Center" posted photos of the incident in the video, claiming that it was an act of animal cruelty by a police officer in the Chalong sub-district of Phuket. The team at the Soi Dog Foundation, an animal protection association, said they would file a complaint with the police after the investigation revealed that the cat had been registered with the foundation.
On May 10, 2024, the media met with Russian witnesses, Mr. Stanislav and Ms. Gromova. Russian witnesses examined video footage showing Thai men abusing the cat until they killed it. They said the incident occurred around 5 a.m. on May 8 at Anusorn Lane, Chalong sub-district.
A man grabbed a white cat, threw it on the ground two or three times, and then handed it to his dog to attack. Then he picked up the badly injured cat, walked away and threw it away. Later, the reporter met the owner of the cat, La-ongdao, who said that her cat's name is Ouan (which means big) and that she has lived in her house on this street for 5 years.
The cat was registered with the Soi Dog Foundation and was treated by a Foundation veterinarian when it became ill. On the morning of May 8, she went out looking for her cat that was not at home. She thought he might be playing in the apartment across the street from the house, as he usually plays there. Later, a neighbor showed her a video taken by a stranger showing the moment when several dogs bit her cat.
She then went to the dog's owner, but did not find him. She found his wife, who told her that her husband had gone to work. She searched for a day but couldn't find it. In the evening, the staff of the Soi Dog Foundation came to meet the cat as planned. She then tells them that she hasn't found him yet.
That night, the police officer with the dog came to visit her and told her that the cat was dead and that he would find another one to replace it. She said it couldn't be replaced and asked for her cat's remains because she saw him take it away in the video. He replied indifferently that he had thrown it away. When she asked him if the cat was dead when he threw it, he simply replied that the cat was motionless.
She insisted that the body be returned to her because she was going to bury him. Subsequently, at 7 p.m., he brought the remains of the cat in a black bag. She touched it, and the cat was still soft. So she asked him if he knew that the cat might not die when he threw it, so why torture it like this? He just repeated the same words, and the cat didn't move.
La-ongdao said that the lawsuit will be filed by the Soi Dog Foundation because the cat has been in the care of the foundation for many years. She couldn't accept what she saw in the video, and neither could the stranger at the Foundation who was responsible for taking care of Ouan.
In March 2023, Thailand announced that it would monitor the mental health of police officers after a police officer suffered from a mental disorder. It is clear that the police officer who tortured and killed the cat had serious psychological problems and should not have been in uniform.