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Newham couple stab their puppy in “horrible” dare gone wrong

Daddy the mixed-breed dog was less than one year old (Credit: Crown Prosecution Service) 

A Newham real estate boss goaded his boyfriend into stabbing their puppy in a failed attempt at reverse psychology.

Ricardo Williams, 29, stabbed mixed-breed Daddy “forcefully and deeply” in the chest after his partner Lik Wu, 27, handed him a kitchen knife and said “if you don’t like the dog just kill it then”.

Wu, who wore a black polo top, hairband and skinny jeans to the dock of Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 26 January, said he never thought the threat would be carried out.

On 7 April last year, Williams chased Daddy around the couple’s £819,000 flat in the borough’s Royal Docks and cut “a hole in his belly”.

“He punishes the dogs,” Wu told the court, “Ricardo is very territorial and trying to be the dominant figure in the household. Daddy was really scared of him, he was chasing him with a knife and doing a stabbing motion but I never thought he would really stab him.”

Wu leaves Willesden Magistrates' Court after receiving a community order (Credit: Charlie Jones)

But the next day the self-described dog-lover spotted the gash and allowed Williams to superglue it together because he “didn’t have money for the vet”.

“I wasn’t there for the superglue, I couldn’t watch, Ricardo did it,” said Wu.

On 10 April Wu, who is the director of Wong Da real estate which serves his native Hong Kong as well as China and Birmingham, noticed “red flesh hanging out” of Daddy’s belly, and took him to the vet.

When the couple of two and a half years returned, Wu “dared” him to stab puppy, who was less than one year old, and Williams “instantly” obliged.

In footage played to the court, the defendant was seen outside his building telling police: “He took so long to come and help me fix his bandage I just gave up on the dog.

“Every time we get upset with each other we don’t shout at each other, we are always quiet.

Daddy’s wound had been superglued shut (Credit: Crown Prosecution Service)

“I didn’t want to see my dog hurt anymore. I felt really upset and angry and told him to end the dog’s life if he doesn’t like it.

“I said if you don’t like the dog just kill it then, kill the dog, just kill it. I grabbed the knife and put it on the table and he just stabbed the dog instantly.”

Giving evidence at the trial, he insisted: “I only placed the knife in front of him to discourage him from hurting him. He always does the opposite that I tell him.”

Wu told a disbelieving judge he left the house, where Daddy lay with his “chest and lungs bleeding”, because he was scared for his life.

“Thinking in all the intensity and emotion I might be the next victim, I left the house,” he said, “I went out after the dog was stabbed was because of a fear of my own life. I’m not exaggerating.”

In response to questioning from district judge Mark Jabbitt, Wu said he never told police because he didn’t want “to make Ricardo’s sentence any more serious”.

“I was so scared I ran out the door, there was so much blood I was sitting there and my whole body was numb.

“I went back inside and Ricardo was cleaning the blood off the floor but I told him to stop and we went back to the vet.

“He passed away the next morning because the vet instructed me it is best to put him down.”

The fatal wound (Credit: Crown Prosecution Service)

Judge Jabbitt told him: ‘You placed the value of your relationship above your duty to safeguard the dog.

“You made a significant error of judgement.

“You knew he didn’t like the dog, you knew he had stabbed the dog and you say ‘if you don’t like the dog you might as well kill him’.

“You were responsible for the dog. The dog was caused unnecessary suffering. The poor dog was stabbed fatally.

“You permitted Williams to apply wholly inappropriate treatment to him by way of superglue.

“You left the house at the point the dog most needed help. I don’t accept you were scared of him because you never previously mentioned it.

“I find you guilty. What happened to Williams in this brutal act?”

The court heard Williams pleaded guilty to stabbing the dog last November and was jailed for 16 weeks.

The judge asked if Wu had anything else to say in his defence.

“I was not the one who carried out this insidious act against my sweet dog. I did nothing to harm him and everything to protect him.

“I am also a victim as I witnessed the horrible moment he was stabbed.”

Asked if he had any other pets, Wu replied: “Some time ago I went to Hong Kong for two months and left my Chihuahua with Ricardo, but I never saw him again. He said it had been stolen at a Halloween party. He waited two weeks after the event to tell me, but I don’t know why.”

Wu, of the Royal Docks, Newham, denied but was found guilty after a trial of failing to prevent unnecessary suffering to an animal.

He was handed a 12-month community order and will be required to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

Wu was banned from owning a dog for the next seven years, while Williams had already been banned for life.

They are no longer in a relationship.

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