Five Taiwanese men are facing a fine of more than 3,000 US dollars each for killing and eating two dogs in what an official said was the first such case in a decade in the Taipei area.

The five, all aged in their 50s or older, were caught slaughtering the dogs in Yingke, outside Taipei, in May and were subsequently investigated for allegedly abusing the two animals.

Although acquitted by a prosecutor last month, the five -- several of them jobless -- face a fine of 100,000 Taiwan dollars (3,300 US) each for violating the animal protection law.

While some people of Chinese origin used to eat dog on the island, it is now an offence to eat either dogs or cats and anyone doing so faces fines of up to 500,000 Taiwan dollars under local law.

"This is the first case of its kind in the greater Taipei area over the past 10 years," Hsieh Sung-chih, an official at the New Taipei City Government, told AFP.