Jan. 10—Nearly a year after abusing a cat at a Hamilton apartment complex that had to be later euthanized, Zhean Bai was found guilty Friday in Butler County Common Pleas Court of felony animal cruelty after pleading no contest.
Zhean Bai, 28, was charged in February with one count of cruelty to a companion animal, a fifth-degree felony.
Judge Keith Spaeth sentenced Bai to 30 days in the Butler County Jail and one year probation. Bai, who has has been in the United States on a student visa for more than 10 years, agreed to leave the country voluntarily.
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Bai’s November trial was cancelled at the request of the defense that was awaiting an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that could affect his case.
Bai is accused of capturing a cat then slamming it to the ground at a Hampshire Drive apartment complex on Jan. 24, 2024, causing the animal grave injuries. The cat named, Juliet according to residents, was euthanized due to its injuries.
Bai’s former team of attorneys filed a motion to have the charge dismissed citing the pending case before the Ohio Supreme Court questioning the definition of a companion animal which raises the charge to a felony.
In the motion, the attorneys questioned if the cat was a companion animal or a “feral cat” because “the cat was not owned by anyone in the apartment building, nor did it live in anyone’s home.”
In a unanimous decision high court ruled a cat or dog does not need to be “kept” in order to be protected under the law. It reversed a decision by the Eighth District Court of Appeals that found the felony-level statute only applied to pets that received care from someone.
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