Vietnamese man sentenced to over 8 years for animal killings

Taichung, Feb. 3 (CNA) The Taichung District Court has sentenced an undocumented Vietnamese migrant worker to eight years and two months in prison for illegally hunting and selling a stray cat and an endangered leopard cat in violation of Taiwan's firearms and wildlife conservation laws.

The defendant, Ban Khac Hiep (潘克協), was convicted of violating the Firearms, Ammunition and Knives Control Act and the Wildlife Conservation Act. He was also fined NT$240,000 (US$7,600).

The ruling can be appealed.

According to prosecutors, Ban absconded from his legal place of work in October 2020 and later made a homemade hunting gun, which he used to hunt wildlife illegally for profit in March and April last year.

He enlisted the help of an accomplice, Pham Van Cuong (范文強), to arrange the sale of the animals, prosecutors said.

On March 13, 2025, Ban killed a stray cat and sold it through Pham to a buyer, with the two together reaping NT$1,500 in proceeds.

Ban shot and killed a leopard cat -- a protected species in Taiwan --on April 19 that same year, and again asked Pham to find a buyer.

The following day, Pham's Vietnamese girlfriend, surnamed Nguyen (阮), delivered the leopard cat carcass to a buyer and collected NT$3,000.

Nguyen later received deferred prosecution, while Pham was sentenced in November last year to one year in prison for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act.

Police investigating the case attempted to arrest Ban on June 4 last year at a makeshift structure in Taichung's Xinshe District. Officers said Ban aimed his modified firearm at them and fled while they withdrew to seek backup. He was later apprehended and indicted.

In its ruling handed down on Jan. 28, the court stated that leopard cats are a rare and protected species in Taiwan, and that Ban showed disregard for animal life by illegally killing and selling both a stray cat and protected wildlife.

The court said the offenses were serious and warranted a substantial sentence.