4th February 2023 – (Hong Kong) At around 6pm last evening (3rd), a man surnamed Lee (45 years old) passed by the opposite building of No. 154-158 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok. A cat was looking out the window of a closed pet store located on the first floor while the store’s window was open. The man was worried that the cat would climb out the window and fall, so he went upstairs to inspect. At that time, someone was cleaning up the red paint stains outside the store, but the other party said that he was only removing the paint stains in the public area and did not know anything about the store. It is understood that the store began to close down in November last year, and it was suspected that the owner had been harassed due to debt issues. After returning to his apartment, Lee was still worried about the situation of the cat, so he contacted SPCA. At 10pm in the evening, he returned to the scene to understand the situation and called the police for help.
Police subsequently arrived at the scene and called firefighters to use ladder to access the unit. They found 4 cats in the store but one of the cats was certified dead on the spot. The dead cat was a Ragdoll, while the rescued cats included 2 Burmese cats and 1 Munchkin. The three surviving cats were severely malnourished and one of them had a broken foot. The hygiene condition of the pet store was poor with no food and water.
Officers classified the case as “cruel treatment of animals” and contacted the person in charge to understand the situation. At about 1am today, SPCA staff took away the carcass in plastic bad and 3 surviving cats in iron cages for further examination.