Police arrest son of owner for cruelty to animals and are now checking whether dog was thrown into the sea on Saturday.
- Same dog was rescued from Victoria Harbour on Saturday
- Suspect facing up to 3 years in jail and fine of HK$200k
A Japanese spitz rescued by Marine police from the Victoria Harbour on Saturday has died after police suspect it was thrown from the roof of a residential block in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Police arrested the dog owner’s son – a 23-year-old man – for cruelty to animals at his home on the ninth floor of the same building in Cheung Sha Wan.
By lunchtime, the jobless man was being held for questioning and had not been charged.
Detectives from Sham Shui Po police district were handling the case.
Police received a call at 6.17am from a resident of Cheung Fai Building in Cheung Sha Wan who had heard a loud bang.
The male dog was found dead from the fall and officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) took the body away.
A force insider said: “Officers found a dead dog and arrested a 23-year-old man for cruelty to animals.
“Initial investigation showed the man’s mother was the owner of the dog.”
Broken glass and blood stains were also found on the terrace of the building, according to police.
After checking its identity chip, the dog was revealed to be the same pet which fell into Victoria Harbour outside the Harbour City shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday, according to a police source.
It was plucked from the water by Marine Police before being taken to the SPCA office for examination. No injuries were found on the dog at the time. After being checked by a vet, staff issued a verbal warning to the female owner when she came to pick up the dog.
Police had treated the Saturday case as “animal in danger” but a source said officers were now checking whether the dog was thrown into the sea.
Cruelty to animals is a serious crime in Hong Kong and carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000 (US$25,480).
The police launched the Animal Watch Scheme in 2011 aiming to combat cruelty. Members came from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, SPCA, the School of Veterinary Medicine of City University of Hong Kong and veterinarian associations.
In the first half of 2017, authorities prosecuted 10 people and convicted another 10 for abusing animals, compared with 15 prosecutions and 11 convictions in 2016. – SCMP