Man sentenced to prison for killing temple fish
By Chen Chien-chih and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A 30-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) has been sentenced to 40 days imprisonment and fined NT$200,000 after dumping acrylic resin beads into a temple fish pond, which killed the fish.
Prosecutors said the incident occurred at Tianmei Fude Temple (田美福德宮) in Taichung’s Shalu District (沙鹿), resulting in the deaths of 20 koi.
The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office alleged Chen went to the pond on the evening of Dec. 8 last year and dumped the beads into the water. The koi, which were worth about NT$45,000 in total, all died within a week, the indictment said.
Acrylic resin beads are pictured in an undated photograph.
Photo: Taipei Times
Prosecutors cited a 2024 case at the National Taiwan University Hospital Hsinchu Branch in which an 18-month-old girl was rushed to the emergency department after accidentally swallowing resin beads. She was discharged after receiving rapid treatment.
The hospital warned the highly absorbent material can rapidly expand after entering the gastrointestinal tract and potentially cause an intestinal obstruction. Severe cases can require emergency surgery and can be fatal.
Police said Chen admitted to the offense when questioned, but failed to appear when summoned by prosecutors. Prosecutors said surveillance footage and the results of police questioning are sufficient grounds to establish that he had committed the offense, and charged him with violating the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) and damaging property.
The Shalu Summary Division of the Taichung District Court found Chen guilty of violating Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Animal Protection Act. It sentenced him to 40 days in detention and fined him NT$200,000. The ruling can be appealed.
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