Possum attackers hear their fate
The men were charged with animal cruelty after assaulting a possum near Airlie Beach with the attack then shared on social media from a Snapchat recording
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TWO men who assaulted a possum near Airlie Beach will spend nine months on probation.
Chatmongkol Norna, 19, and Connor Anthony Hard, 18, appeared in Proserpine Magistrates Court, having both previously pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.
On June 21, Norna and Hard had been drinking since that afternoon at their Cannonvale unit, when at 10.30pm, Norna grabbed a possum by its tail from a nearby tree.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors told the court Norna then proceeded to punch the possum three times, while Hard participated with a single punch.
Norna then swung the possum by its tail before forcibly throwing the possum over the balcony.
Sgt Myors said the attack on the possum was a deliberate act of violence.
"The incident took about five to six minutes before the possum was thrown over the balcony," Sgt Myors said.
"The conduct involved multiple acts which were all deliberate."
The incident was recorded and shared on a friends Snapchat who witnessed the assault, and was then shared to other social media sites.
Police were informed about the attack after witnessing the attention the video was receiving on social media.
Both men will serve nine months' probation with no convictions recorded.
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