By Gina Martinez
A Fresh Meadows man was sentenced to 45 days in jail after throwing a dog from a balcony during an argument with his ex-girlfriend, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
According to Brown, 35-year-old Yuk Cheung pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals and tampering with evidence for the “senseless killing” of a 12-year-old female pug. The DA said Cheung threw the animal from a balcony in March during a dispute with his ex-girlfriend over who would care for the dog.
“During an argument with a former girlfriend, the defendant lashed out at a defenseless dog,” Brown said. “The little pug was viciously thrown from a balcony and plunged seven stories to her death. As a result of this act of aggression and cruelty, the defendant is going to jail.”
Cheung was arraigned Aug. 10 in Queens Supreme Court. Justice Barry Kron indicated he will sentence Cheung to 45 days in jail and five years’ probation. Cheung will also be banned from owning pets for five years and will be required to register with the New York City Department of Health as an animal abuser after he is released from jail. The animal abuser registration prevents city shelters, rescue groups and pet stores from allowing individuals convicted of an animal abuse crime to purchase or adopt a pet.
According to the charges, Cheung went to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on 40th Road in Flushing where the two argued about Cheung taking his 12-year-old pug, which he left behind when he moved out of the apartment. The ex-girlfriend told Cheung he needed to find a place to stay that allowed dogs and Cheung responded that she “would not have to worry about the dog anymore,” the charges said. Cheung then picked up the pug and walked onto the seventh floor apartment’s balcony with the pet. When he returned inside, he no longer had the dog, the charges said.
According to the DA, when the ex-girlfriend asked Cheung what happened to the dog, he replied that the pug had slipped. Then when speaking to a detective about the dog’s death on March 21, Cheung said he tripped going onto the balcony and the dog left his hands, the charges said. Later, Cheung changed his story again and said the pug leaped out of his arms and must have gone through the balcony’s metal railing, according to the charges.
According to Brown, the dog was killed when it hit the pavement below. Cheung picked up the pug and placed her in a box with ice and dumped the remains in a nearby garbage receptacle, Brown said.
During the investigation it was reveled that the animal had to have been propelled 40 feet through the air in order to clear a rooftop directly below the balcony and to then land on the street below six feet from the sidewalk, the DA said.
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