NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A judge on Long Island has sentenced a man to two weeks in jail for beating his dog, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.
Bing Jie Yang, 25, of Westbury, was studying at Adelphi University at the time to the dog's death. Prosecutors said that Yang repeatedly hit 2-year-old Pomeranian, Dan Dan, after it soiled a carpet in his apartment on April 7, 2015.
Authorities said the dog died from severe internal injuries including a fractured liver, internal bleeding in his brain, and broken ribs.
"This helpless dog died a horrific death at the hands of the man who had a responsibility to care for him," Singas said. "No pet should ever be subjected to this kind of abuse, and my office will continue to bring these cases and to fight for stronger laws that reflect the seriousness of crimes like these."
The DA's office asked for a sentence of eight months behind bars. But Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter gave Yang 14 days in jail, prohibited him from owning or caring for an animal for three years, and required him to register with the county's Animal Abuse Registry.
The DA's office has called for animal crimes to be punished more severely. A bill introduced in Albany in 2012 would have made a crime like this one punishable by up to eight years in prison. But that bill has stalled in the Legislature.