Sliema Cat-Killing Conviction Upheld on Appeal: Judge Natasha Galea

Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras upheld the conviction and sentence of Okamura Satoshi, a Japanese national found guilty of killing cats and harming animals in Sliema, dismissing both grounds of his appeal. The original Magistrate's Court penalties, comprising a two-year prison term, a €15,000 fine, and a 40-year ban on keeping animals, remain in force. The Magistrate's Court had convicted Satoshi of killing cats, harming animals, resisting arrest twice, and slightly injuring a police officer.

The sentence included an 18-month treatment order and a protection order in favour of the arresting officers. Satoshi's first appeal ground challenged the failure to appoint a psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate his mental health before sentencing. Judge Galea Sciberras rejected this, finding the Magistrate's Court had addressed his mental health through the treatment order.

His second ground argued the two-year prison sentence was disproportionate. Judge Galea Sciberras ruled the sentence was within legal parameters, and confirmed the original judgment in full. The case stems from an incident on Manuel Dimech Street, Sliema, reported as occurring on 1 August 2025.

When officers approached Satoshi to arrest him, he resisted. At his apartment, he resisted again and slightly injured one officer. At arrest, he carried latex gloves and cat food.

CCTV footage from weeks earlier showed an individual using cat food to lure a cat before slamming it to the ground and killing it. That footage formed part of the evidence against him. Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna Briffa and Elliot Magro led the prosecution at appeal.