Man imprisoned for frightening chickens to death

A man surnamed Gu in Hengyang county, Hunan province, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with one year of probation on Tuesday by the People's Court of Hengyang County in Hunan province after causing the deaths of 1,100 chickens.

The feud between defendant Gu and the chicken owner, surnamed Zhong, began in April 2022 when Gu chopped down Zhong's trees without notifying the owner. Zhong's wife discovered this and towed the trees away, which made Gu resentful towards Zhong's family.

Later one night, out of retaliation, Gu snuck into Zhong's chicken farm and used a flashlight to scare the chickens. The large flock of chickens was scared and crowded into a corner, causing 460 of them to be trampled to death.

After being caught, Gu was forced to pay Zhong 3,000 yuan ($436) in compensation, which made his resentment towards Zhong even more intense. Later, Gu managed to carry out the same trick again, causing around 640 more of Zhong's chickens to be killed in the same way.

According to the authorities, the 1,100 dead chickens were worth 13,840 yuan.

The Hengyang court ruled that Gu intentionally caused property loss to Zhong, and the loss was a large amount. He was convicted of the crime of intentionally destroying property. However, considering that he showed remorse for his behavior, he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with one year of probation.