Chinese teacher who killed cat by putting it in bag fined over ten thousand US dollars

China News Service, February 28 - According to the Sing Tao Daily in the United States, a Chinese-American female teacher who was convicted of one count of disorderly conduct for causing the death of a kitten placed in a bag, faced a hearing by New York City Department of Education. Although she retained her teaching position, she was fined $12,500. She appealed to the court, arguing that the fine was too heavy and the hearing process was unfair to her, requesting a suspension of the relevant decision. However, due to insufficient grounds, her appeal was not accepted by the court.

The plaintiff, Liu Tianna (Tina Liu, phonetic translation), was a tenured teacher employed by the Department of Education with 15 years of service. Before being suspended in 2009, she taught at a high school in Queens and had an excellent teaching record. In September 2009, she put a kitten in a bag at home, which led to its removal by animal control authorities, only to discover that the kitten had already died. At the time, she said, "Now I see what this country is like. I should have killed them all instead of calling anyone." As a result, Liu Tianna was arrested in November and pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct in March the following year.

In response to this incident, the New York City Department of Education held several hearings to discuss whether Liu Tianna violated the city's educational regulations and deserved punishment. The hearings lasted a total of six days, with multiple witnesses testifying. Liu Tianna was represented by a lawyer. The Department of Education requested her dismissal, while Liu sought to return to her position without any punishment. Finally, the hearing officer ruled partially in favor of the charges against Liu, fining her $12,500, to be deducted from her salary over 18 months.

Liu Tianna was dissatisfied with the ruling, believing the fine was too severe, lacked justification, and that the hearing officer showed bias against her, making the process unfair. She requested the court to suspend the hearing’s judgment. However, the court believed that throughout the hearing process, Liu was represented by a lawyer and had the opportunity to review all evidence. Her lawyer also did not raise any objections regarding the hearing officer's bias. In fact, the entire hearing process was comprehensive and adequately timed, and the hearing officer's ruling was based on factual evidence.

According to the judgment, Liu Tianna's negligent behavior leading to the kitten's death did not constitute grounds for dismissal. However, her statement upon arrest about "killing them all" demonstrated a lack of judgment, which is essential for her job requiring abundant common sense and good judgment. Considering her 15-year teaching record without any previous offenses, the court did not accept the Department of Education's request for her dismissal but imposed a fine as punishment. Therefore, the court upheld the hearing's decision, rejecting Liu Tianna's appeal. (Author: Liao Guowen)