The municipal government of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday is investigating an animal abuse case, in which a cat was drowned in what appears to be a deliberate attempt.

The Tongyeong station of the Korea Coast Guard received a report at around 8 a.m. Wednesday, of what appeared to be an animal floating around the waters off Misu-dong in Tongyeong. The animal turned out to be a dead cat, whose body was tied to a rope that was bound to rocks beneath the surface.

Investigators suspect that someone had tied the cat to the rocks at low tide, and that the cat eventually drowned as the sea rose.

Tongyeong City is currently investigating exactly how the cat had died, and if there are any indications that the animal had been abused.

The Animal Protection Act stipulates that those who kill an animal without a just cause can be punished by up to three years in prison or 30 million won ($22,000) fine. But there have been complaints that this has been applied too leniently.

According to a 2022 data by the Justice Ministry, 4,249 cases of suspected animal abuse cases were filed to the authorities between 2017 and March of 2022. Only 3 percent of such cases led to an actual trial, with most being closed without indictment or with summary fines.