A Chinese man has been sentenced to six months in prison and a year’s probation for causing the death of 1,100 chickens belonging to his neighbour, reports the China Daily.
Twice the accused who was identified by the name of Gu used a flashlight to terrorize the poultry, which then killed each other.
The beam of light created an immense panic among the birds who rushed to a corner, where they stomped on each other to death trying to flee. 460 of them perished during this first incident.
Gu was then arrested by the police and forced to compensate his neighbor by paying him 3,000 yuan (regarding 590 Canadian dollars). This punishment, however, further frustrated the accused who repeated his gesture, this time causing the death of 640 poultry by scaring them with his flashlight.
In total, 1,100 hens died, for a total value of 13,840 yuan (2,700 Canadian dollars), authorities estimate.
Gu was therefore convicted of intentionally destroying his neighbor’s property.
The dispute between the two men would originate from the decision of the chicken farmer to cut down trees without notifying his neighbor.
