Man tries to cook ibis he captured in park

Tom Quach appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to torturing an animal to death, two counts of committing cruelty on an animal and three counts of harming an animal.

The court was told he captured an ibis, affectionately known as a “bin chicken” at a Sydney park in May before stuffing it into his backpack and returning to his home in Sydney’s east.

The 60-year-old then decapitated the native bird and hung it up in the shower to dry it out before he attempted to cook it.

Earlier in the year, he was arrested after a video went viral of him trying to stuff another distressed ibis into his backpack.

The Maroubra man had tied a rope around the bird’s feet and neck and was trying to force it inside a red trolley bag near Eastwood train station.

Members of the public intervened and were able to take the bird from the man. It had an injured beak and was bleeding but flew away, according to witnesses.

Quach’s lawyer previously told the court that the Vietnamese national was confused about the protective status of the ibis, as he had previously captured and eaten the bird in Queensland.

Quach also pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited drug and three counts of shoplifting.

Bizarrely, he wore a tea towel secured to his head with a green band as he waited to learn his fate for the ten offences.

The court heard the 60-year-old had previously been jailed for matters of dishonesty and had continued to offend, predominantly by stealing food items.

His lawyer Hayley Le said Quach had “less moral culpability than others” due to a mental health condition and a “very serious drug issue which he spends most of his pension on.”

She argued further time behind bars would only serve to incapacitate her client further.

Magistrate Michael Price disagreed, slamming Quach for his blatant and persistent disregard for the law.

“There obviously appears to be little effort on your part to address this offending which wastes the resources of stores and police,” he said.

“The offences reveal an inability on your behalf to comply with your obligations in a civilised society.”

However, the magistrate said the animal cruelty offences against the ibises were “more worrying”.

“Whatever view you may have of those types of birds, it is a serious matter to deal with those birds in the way that you have,” he reprimanded Quach.

“You just can’t treat animals like that.”

Magistrate Price sentenced the 60-year-old to six months behind bars for the animal cruelty offences and the shoplifting offences.

He will be eligible for release on February 8, 2024.

Quach was also fined $600 for harming the ibises, which does not carry a prison term.

Originally published as Man tries to cook ibis after capturing it in public park