Before Killua: This Aspin Was Killed After Being Mistaken for Another Dog
Worst part is that Erika had nothing to do with the events leading to her death.
Trigger warning: This story mentions animal violence.
(SPOT.ph) Before Killua, there was Erika.
Erika died after being stabbed multiple times after being mistaken for another stray dog in the area. She was an Aspin who was being cared for by employees at a grill house in Malate, Manila for the past three years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to ABS-CBN News, a Korean national named Jung Seongho was bitten by a stray dog at 4:10 a.m. on March 9. He went inside a nearby grill house asking for help as caught on CCTV. He was aided by the employees who took him to the restroom to clean up his wound. At that time, Erika was inside the grill house while other strays continued to bark outside.
“Tinahulan siya. Ginawa niya, kumuha siya ng kutsilyo doon at lumabas siya. Napagbalingan niya itong aso na alaga naman nitong mga empleyado ng grill house,” Manila Police District (MPD) Director Arnold Ibay said in an interview with The Philippine Star.
After cleaning the wound, Seongho reportedly went straight to the barking strays armed with a 15-inch knife that he got from the kitchen. According to the employees, he cornered Erika when she passed by. The grill house staff tried to put a stop to the commotion but could only do so much to stop an armed individual. He was immediately arrested by the MPD.
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What happened to Erika the Aspin?
Seongho’s side of the story is a little different. He claimed that he was trying to find his fallen car keys outside of the grill house but was in fear that he would get bitten again, which is why he chose to hold a knife for his protection. It just so happened that Erika passed by that very moment.
“I get my key and then two dogs looked at me. So I just self-defense,” Seongho told The Philippine Star. “That time I’m scared. I’m very scared. These three dogs bite me.”
He was given his anti-rabies shot before he was sent to the MPD for violating the Animal Welfare Act of 1988. He is remorseful for what happened, considering he has pet dogs of his own in his home in Pasay City—“I’m so sad because I love dogs,” Seongho was quoted as saying in ABS-CBN News.
Erika’s owner was in Baguio when the incident happened.
“Sorry siya nang sorry, pero kailangan niyang i-face ‘yung consequence,” he told The Philippine Star. “Para sakin wala naming gagawin sayo ‘yung aso kung wala ka rin ginagawa sakanila eh.”
What are animal cruelty laws in the Philippines?
Erika and Killua’s stories have revived the push for Senate Bill No. 2458 by Senator Grace Poe, which seeks to revise the Animal Welfare Act to “strengthen animal welfare standards, policies, rules and regulations, implementation and enforcement as well as provide tougher penalties to violators.”
As this is still pending in the Committee, we can refer to the amended Animal Welfare Act or Republic Act No. 10631.
For anyone convicted of torturing any animal, neglecting to provide its basic needs, or subjecting it to any form of cruelty, the law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of one year and one day to a maximum of two years and/or a fine ranging from P30,000 to P100,000.
If the act of cruelty results in the death of the animal, the penalties are more severe, with imprisonment ranging from one year and six months to three years and a fine between P50,000 to P250,000. In addition, the convicted may also face a permanent ban from owning any other animals in the future.
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