CONVICTED (2024) | Thabiso Luzuko Giyo, born July 1994, currently of High Street, Chatham, but with links to Tottenham Hale, London, and Edinburgh in Scotland – for the systematic torture of a pug puppy.
The tiny seven-month-old pug, called Capri, was discovered with severe burns to her face, mouth and tongue after Giyo doused her with boiling water. She had also suffered trauma to her head. In addition, X-rays showed that she had a fracture to her right leg and healed pelvic fractures from older injuries.
The puppy was first taken to a vets in Chatham with swelling to her head believed to have been caused by trauma. A few weeks later she was back at the vets, this time with burns and injuries to her face, mouth and tongue. The RSPCA was then alerted.
The vet said in a witness statement: “Capri presented with massive burns over her face and nek. Her tongue was swollen to three times its size and sloughing.
“The substance she had been burned with also affected her left eye”.
In a court statement RSPCA Inspector Kirsten Ormerod, who investigated for the animal charity, said Capri’s owner claimed to have left her in the care of flatmate Giyo for around four hours while she went out shopping.
Inspector Ormerod added: “She stated that on her return at 6:30pm Capri had a sore face.
“She stated Giyo had wiped Capri’s face with an exfoliating glove but quite quickly Capri’s face started to swell and she was struggling to breathe so she took Capri to the emergency vet.
“She had red, open wounds to her face, nose and around her mouth. Her tongue appeared very swollen and she was not able to close her mouth due to her swollen tongue.
“She was also audibly breathing loudly and appeared lame on her back right leg and was very reluctant to put weight on it.”
Capri’s owner told Inspector Ormerod she’d informed police and had asked Giyo to leave the property, but was able to provide a contact telephone number for him.
The vet’s witness statement added: “Nobody was willing to tell us what substance Capri had been burned with. [Giyo] said he gave her a bath and used an exfoliating glove on her which didn’t add up to the severity of the injuries she presented with.
“While she was under anaesthetic for an endoscopy, she was also x-rayed. The x-rays showed a fracture of the right [leg]. The x-rays also showed healed pelvic fractures from older injuries.”
Speaking about Capri’s first stint in hospital, the vet said: “She was really calm and relaxed around females but shrank away and trembled in the presence of a male vet.
“She was absolutely terrified of males in hospital to the point where only females could handle her without stressing her out.”
When a feeding tube was fitted to help the puppy, it was later suggested that the burns had been caused by boiling water.
Two weeks after she was first admitted, Capri began eating on her own and her injuries started to improve.
In January 2023, she had surgery for her leg fracture and was moved to an RSPCA rehoming centre to recover.
She was later adopted by one of the vet nurses who saved her life.
In court Giyo, an inspiring rapper who came to the UK from Pretoria in South Africa, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
Giyo, who according to his LinkedIn profile works in network support for internet service provider Trooli, told the court that Capri’s injuries had been caused accidentally and denied having intentionally harmed the puppy,
Sentencing | 22 weeks in prison, suspended for two years; £800 in costs and £154 victim surcharge. THREE-year ban on keeping any animals (expires May 2027).
Evil ugly vile scumbag C
His punishment is a joke for the damage he caused to a defenceless pup .. he should have been locked up not given a suspended sentence.