Man who punched dog to death could be deported

Boqing Tao will now likely be taken away from his wife and baby. Photo / Supplied

A man who punched a dog to death after it defecated on his bed and then bit him has failed to dodge a conviction.

Boqing Tao, 26, will now likely be taken away from his wife and baby and deported back to China.

His lawyer Owen Martell applied for a discharge without conviction at Auckland District Court this afternoon but Judge Grant Fraser declined it, saying it was "serious animal welfare offending".

"We're dealing with a small, defenceless animal against the powerful force of your punches honed in the gym. We're dealing here with a situation where an animal was punched to death then callously burned and disposed of at a beach," the judge said.

The court heard the 6-month-old Pomeranian dog called Mia - which belonged to a friend of Tao's flatmate - had been left at the central Auckland apartment on January 28 last year.

After finding the dog had defecated on his bed Tao grabbed it and was then bitten, sparking a "momentary loss of control and fit of anger", according to his counsel.

But Judge Fraser said the defendant had also attacked the dog earlier in the day when he threw its bed on top of it and punched it through the fabric.

Mia had trouble breathing and died shortly after the second attack, during which Tao threw three or four punches.

Later he burned the body at a west Auckland beach.

When interviewed by police he simply told them: "I go to the gym and practice boxing. My punch is very powerful".

Also weighing against Tao was the fact he had been illegally in the country for the past three and a half years and Mr Martell said if he was convicted of wilfully illtreating an animal he would have "no show" of getting a visa.

His only possible reprieve, the lawyer said, was if he was discharged without conviction and then made a successful application to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal for a Partnership Work Visa, which would ultimately be dealt with by the Associate Minister of Immigration.

The court heard how Tao had got married to a New Zealand permanent resident in 2014 and now had a 10-month-old son.

Now he will likely face deportation.

That argument was not enough to sway Judge Fraser from entering a conviction, nor was the fact Tao had come to court with a $2000 cheque for the victim.

He had also done 160 hours community work at Northcote Baptist Church's op-shop, his lawyer said.

Tao will be sentenced in August.