A police corporal in Chiang Mai, Thailand, was slapped with a six-month jail sentence for killing a dog named Tia Mor Chor.
Chiang Mai Provincial Court on Tues sentenced Pol Sgt Parinya (family name witheld) to 6 months in jail for killing a stray dog, popularly known as "Tia Mor Chor, that was much loved by Chiang Mai University community. The dog went missing in May 2020. #Thailand #ChiangMai #dogs pic.twitter.com/V1JwLK8EE8
— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) July 26, 2023
Despite being a stray dog, the canine was well-loved by the students at Chiang Mai University (CMU), and left behind a crowd of grieving fans.
Campus pet
The stout dog got his first name from his height ("Tia" is Thai for "shorty"), and his last name "Morchor" from the Thai abbreviation of "CMU".
Image via Thai PBS World.
Tia lived at the Science Faculty, but often wandered about the campus.
He even joined the students on their activities, like the university's annual 14km freshmen run, reported Thai PBS World.
Photos of the event showed Tia sprinting valiantly in front of the runners, despite his tiny legs.
Image via Thai PBS World.
The human participants even waited for the furry guest of honour to show up before starting.
Image via Thai PBS World.
The little guy had his own Facebook page launched in 2015, called “Tia Story”, and another called “Tia Mor Chor” in 2017.
As testament to Tia's popularity, the latter page garnered more than 230,000 likes and over 267,000 followers, according to The Star.
Went missing in May 2020
Tia went missing on May. 4, 2020.
He was still present on social media up till the day before, when students posted photos of him, said The Star.
Tia was not seen in any of his usual spots from May. 4 onwards.
Anxieties were heightened when by May. 5, the campus star still hadn't showed up for his meals. People flooded the internet with his photos, imploring others to help find the dog.
Another fruitless search was carried out on May. 6.
Then came the fateful evening of May. 7, when someone discovered the body of a small dog that matched Tia’s description.
Run over by motorcycle
A carcass with wounds and broken bones was later found in a sack in the woods near Rajamangala University of Technology, Lanna campus, stated Thai PBS World.
Fears were confirmed when the implanted chip salvaged from the remains was identified as Tia's.
A CMU staff who fed Tia alerted the police, hoping to find the culprit responsible for the animal's death.
Whilst conducting their investigation, the police uncovered CCTV footage in the area where the dog was last seen, which showed a man taking Tia for a motorcycle ride.
This man was identified as police corporal Parinya Panyabutr, from the border patrol police bureau.
Tia's joy rides were not uncommon, according to the Thai news publication, who said that people would invite the dog to ride with them in the past.
Image via Thai PBS World.
According to Parinya, Tia's death was accidental — the dog fell from his motorcycle and was crushed to death under the back wheel.
Nevertheless, Tia's self-appointed guardians criticised the police corporal for keeping mum about the incident when people were actively searching for the animal.
On Jul. 25, 2023, the Chiang Mai Court convicted Parinya for the offence of animal brutality and sentenced him to six months in jail without chance of suspension.
The Facebook group Watchdog Thailand Foundation made a post approving the court's decision after a legal battle that dragged on for three years.
Immortalised
Tia's skeleton is now on display at Chiang Mai’s Veterinary Anatomy Pathology Museum.
Image via Thai PBS World.
Many people have gone to lay flowers at his burial ground, and CMU students are even requesting for a monument to honour the beloved dog, said Thai PBS World.
Top images via Khaosod English and Thai PBS World