A Chiang Mai court has sentenced a police corporal to six months in jail on an animal cruelty charge for killing a dog, which was widely known as “Tia Morchor”, in 2020. Police corporal Parinya Panyabutr, of the border patrol police bureau, was also convicted of burglary.
A group of people, gathered in front of the court wearing t-shirts featuring a picture of the dog, cheered when they heard of the verdict. “Tia now has the justice he deserves,” they shouted.
“Tia Morchor” was an eight-year-old dog which got his name from his height, and Morchor is the abbreviation for Chiang Mai University (CMU), where he came to fame.
He used to take part in the traditional 14km run by Chiang Mai University freshmen each year, from the university to Doi Suthep. He was often seen running in front of the freshmen, despite his short legs. Many times, the runners waited for him to join before starting.
Tia loved to wander around the university and would take motorcycle rides with anybody who invited him to do so. He was a local celebrity and people loved to take selfies with him. He even had his own Facebook page.
When he went missing on May 4, 2020, CMU students and other people in the province launched a search for him. His absence hit the headlines and netizens posted his photos online, begging people to help locate him. Some offered financial rewards for anybody who found the dog.
Some days later, a carcass was found in a sack in a wood near Rajamangala University of Technology, Lanna campus. The remains were identified as those of Tia by an implanted chip. He had some wounds and broken bones.
A Chiang Mai university employee, who said he used to feed Tia, filed a police complaint seeking the person responsible for the dog’s death. Police then launched an investigation by examining CCTV footage in the area where the dog was last seen. They saw a man on motorcycle take Tia for a ride.
Parinya claimed that the dog fell from his motorcycle and was crushed to death under the back wheel. He said he did not intend to harm the dog.
Tia’s fan club, however, criticised him for not reporting the incident, despite the fact that people were looking for the dog.
Investigators tested Parinya’s statements by creating simulation which involved a man and dog, the same height as Tia, on a motorcycle and 23 witnesses, including Somsak Chaiwong, Tia’s owner, testified in court.
Scores of people laid flowers where the dog’s remains were buried, while his skeleton is now displayed in Chiang Mai’s Veterinary Anatomy Pathology Museum.
Some students at the Science Faculty, where Tia lived, called for the building of a monument, but the university said it would have to be discussed.
by Marisa Chimprabha
