Queens Man Faces Two Years In Jail For Tossing Pug Off Balcony: DA

QUEENS, NY — A Fresh Meadows resident who threw his 12-year-old female pug off a balcony on March 17 has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, Queens District Attorney announced Thursday.

Yuk Cheung, 35, was at his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Chan's apartment on 40th Road, Flushing, discussing who would take care of the pug that Cheung left behind after moving out of Chan's apartment, according to the DA. Chan told the defendant that he would have to find an apartment where pets were allowed.

Cheung responded by saying that she "would not have to worry about the dog anymore," picked up the pug and walked out to the balcony, according to the DA. When he came back in, the dog was gone. When Chan asked where the dog was, Cheung replied that he had slipped.

Later, when Cheung was questioned about the dog's death by a detective, he said that he had tripped and the dog fell out of his hands, the DA said. The defendant later changed his story and said that the dog leaped out of his hand and fell through the balcony's railing. He found the dead dog on the street, the DA continued, placed her in a box with ice and dumped her in a garbage bin.

According to the DA, a later investigation of the building showed that the defendant's account was implausible as the dog would have had to be thrown 40 feet across to clear the balcony, landing on the sidewalk before hitting the middle of the street.

The man was arraigned on Wednesday, and bail was set at $10,000. The defendant is due back in court on April 4 and faces up to two years in prison, if convicted.

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