Hong Kong police arrest elderly woman, 3 domestic helpers on suspicion of animal cruelty after dead cat found hanging from tree

Hong Kong police have arrested a 69-year-old woman and her three domestic helpers on suspicion of animal cruelty, two days after a dead cat was found hanging from a tree at the North Point Promenade over the weekend.

The three helpers, aged 24 to 33, were still in police custody as of Tuesday afternoon after their arrest a day earlier, according to acting superintendent Yeung Wan-ming of Eastern police district.

She said their employer had been released on bail pending further investigation. The elderly woman is required to report back to police next month.

Yeung added the elderly suspect was the owner of the shorthair cat, whose carcass was found hanging from a tree with a nylon rope around its neck at the North Point Promenade Pet Garden on Saturday afternoon.

Hong Kong police investigating after dead cat found hanging by rope in pet park

A source familiar with the case said surveillance camera footage showed the four suspects pushing a trolley loaded with a box to the pet garden at about 7pm on Friday.

“An investigation showed they stayed there for several minutes before leaving,” said the insider, who stopped short of revealing the purpose of their visit.

Police said they had studied extensive security camera footage, which helped detectives identify the suspects.

Officers were called to the pet garden at around 1.20pm on Saturday after the body of the adult male cat was discovered hanging from the tree.

After gathering evidence, officers from a police team investigating animal cruelty arrested the elderly woman and the three Indonesian helpers outside a North Point building soon after 7pm on Monday. The suspects live in one of the flats in the building.

Yeung said a preliminary examination by staff from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found no visible injuries on the animal.

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“Further investigation by police and a necropsy conducted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department are required to determine if the cat was subjected to cruelty, its health condition before its death, and the cause of death,” she said.

She added police were also investigating all possible motives behind the incident.

According to Inspector Ng Man-fong of the Eastern criminal investigation unit, animal cruelty is a serious offence punishable by up to three years in jail and a HK$200,000 (US$25,577) fine.

She said the disposal of carcasses is regulated by the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation, adding that illegal dumping in public areas, streams, reservoirs or Hong Kong waters was punishable by up to six months in jail and a HK$25,000 fine.