CCTV footage catches man setting fire to stray cat in Incheon

A man in his 20s was caught abusing a stray cat in Incheon, according to city police, in violation of the Animal Protection Act.

A man in his 20s suspected to have stomped on and set fire to a stray cat is captured in this surveillance camera footage provided by the Korean Animal Welfare Association. [KOREAN ANIMAL WELFARE ASSOCIATION]

Police said Thursday that they'd caught a man in his 20s abusing a stray cat in Incheon.

The suspect was reported by the animal rights group Korean Animal Welfare Association on suspicion of violating the Animal Protection Act, according to the Incheon Jungbu Police Precinct. He is now under investigation.

The incident occurred on June 27 around 11:57 p.m. in the Sinheung-dong area of Incheon’s Jung District. The man allegedly captured a stray cat on the street and confined it inside a rubber traffic cone before striking it with his bare hands and stomping on it multiple times.

Surveillance cameras caught him setting fire to the rubber cone with the cat still inside, then carrying the injured animal elsewhere.

Police confirmed the suspect’s identity through CCTV analysis following the Korean Animal Welfare Association’s report, which initially named an unknown perpetrator. The body of the stray cat was later discovered in a flower bed near the site of the alleged abuse.

“We plan to summon the suspect soon for questioning to determine the details of the incident,” a police official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY KIM EUN-BIN [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]