Eunice Lam
A 57-year-old woman, who allegedly threw two cats off a Tsz Wan Shan building to their death, has been released on police bail pending further investigation.
She was arrested on Wednesday night after the two dead cats were found outside the residential area’s garbage room at 6am, sparking suspicions that they were thrown off Lok Wong House of Tsz Lok Estate.
Police said they arrested the woman, Mak – a hospital assistant – at around 7pm after she returned home, for alleged cruelty to animals. She was released on bail on condition of reporting to police later this month.
It is understood that Mak is the owner of the two cats. She said she has no knowledge that her pets fell.
Sources said the suspect claimed she forgot to lock the grille and close the window after collecting laundry from a drying rack.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has since retrieved the cats’ bodies for further examination.
Following the incident a photo which appears to show the cats was circulated online. The photo was posted in the lobby at Lok Wong House on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, authorities said they were planning to amend the law to include the release of freshwater fish or turtles into rivers and the sea as a cruel act to animals.
In a written reply to agriculture and fisheries sector legislator Steven Ho Chun-yin, Secretary for the Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said the government is also planning to raise the penalties for cruelty to animals to increase the deterrent effect of the measures laid out in the ordinance.
Tse said extending the scope of the ordinance will see an amendment specifying that the “release or abandonment of an animal that causes it to suffer, such as releasing freshwater fish or turtles into the sea, which is an unsuitable habitat, is an act of cruelty to animals and an offense.”
An amendment bill will be submitted to the Legislative Council before the year’s end or early next year.
