The Taichung District Prosecutors' Office yesterday indicted a Thai woman who flushed 10 pet hamsters down a toilet after her Taiwanese boyfriend broke up with her.
The woman, identified only as Promin, posted four video clips of the incident to Instagram on Aug. 27, prosecutors said in the court filings charging her for the animals' deaths.
Photo: Reuters
According to prosecutors, Promin's ex-boyfriend called police at 1:50am on Aug. 28, and told responding officers that Promin was refusing to move out of his home after he had broken up with her.
Although the ex-boyfriend raised the issue of the hamsters on Aug. 28, Promin was initially arrested for overstaying her visa and sent to a National Immigration Agency detention center.
Police later identified Promin as the woman in a series of viral Instagram videos showing her flushing hamsters down a toilet.
The prosecutors asked the court for a heavy punishment in the indictment, because the 27-year-old admitted to what she did as shown in the video clips, but she was "evasive" when asked about her motives and showed no remorse.
The Thai national could face up to two years in prison and a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million (US$6,617 to US$66,174) if the court finds her guilty of causing the hamsters' death under the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), plus an additional year for filming the act and posting it to social media.
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