BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A Bangkok taxi motorcyclist who pretended to be an animal lover on social media was jailed for 18 months after Thailand's Criminal Court convicted him of killing at least nine stray cats he volunteered to take care of.

The court found Panuwat Singsahas, 26, guilty of killing the animals between July 10 and July 31 this year.

He offered to take care of the strays when he read on various Facebook walls that they needed homes.

He took the cats home but failed to update their status on the pages.

Panuwat was arraigned on Aug 15 after animal welfare group Watchdog Thailand alerted authorities that he might have killed the adopted cats.

Some cat carcasses were found near Panuwat's rented apartment on Aug 14.

He was found guilty of violating the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act 2014 and the Criminal Code's Section 381 relating to animal cruelty.

The court initially sentenced Panuwat to 36 months in jail but commuted the sentence by half after he confessed to the crime.

Panuwat's relatives later requested he be released on bail pending an appeal. However, the court decided that he should be detained in the meantime and he was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison.