A 31-year-old Japanese man convicted of killing cats in Malta has lost his appeal against a two-year prison sentence and a €15,000 fine.Okamura Satoshi had previously admitted to killing animals and causing them unnecessary suffering, violently resisting arrest and slightly injuring a police officer as reported by TVM News.The case dates back to 1st August 2025, when police stopped Satoshi in Manuel Dimech Street, Sliema after linking him to an investigation into the killing of cats.According to the court, officers found him carrying latex gloves and cat food matching items seen in security camera footage collected over previous weeks. The footage allegedly showed him killing a cat and using the food to lure more cats towards him.Police said Satoshi reacted aggressively when officers searched him and later resisted arrest again while they were escorting him to his apartment, causing minor injuries to police officers.In addition to the prison sentence and fine, the court banned Satoshi from keeping animals for 40 years, imposed an 18-month treatment order to ensure he receives psychological support and issued a protection order in favour of the police officers he assaulted.In his appeal, Satoshi argued that the Court of Magistrates should have appointed a psychologist or psychiatrist to assess him and claimed that the two-year prison sentence was excessive.However, Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras dismissed the appeal, ruling that the lower court had already taken his mental health into account by imposing a treatment order.She also found that both the prison sentence and the €15,000 fine were proportionate and within the legal limits, confirming the original judgment in full.The prosecution was led by Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna Briffa and Elliot Magro.•