Hong Kong elderly woman arrested over dead cat found hanging from tree says she was following traditional ritual for late pet
- Three helpers arrested over case still in police custody, while 69-year-old employer released on bail, police say
- Elderly woman told officers she was observing traditional ritual after her pet died due to illness
An elderly woman who was arrested along with her three helpers on suspicion of animal cruelty after a dead cat was found hanging from a tree in Hong Kong over the weekend told officers on Tuesday that she was following a traditional ritual for her late pet.
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 69-year-old employer had been released on bail pending further investigation. The suspect is required to report back to police next month.
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Yeung added the elderly woman 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.
Investigators reviewed footage from surveillance cameras showing the four had arrived at the site carrying a cardboard box at 7.20pm on Friday, but they were seen without the item 10 minutes later when they returned to their residence.
The elderly woman told officers that her cat, which she had raised for seven years, had died due to illness, and she was observing a traditional ritual of hanging the animal on a tree, according to a police spokesman.
Some people believe hanging dead cats on trees for a period of time helps the animals reincarnate. Media reports from 2015, 2019 and 2021 also highlighted similar incidents where cat carcasses were found hanging from trees in Changhua and Hsinchu in Taiwan, as well as Chongqing in mainland China.
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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.
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$25,580) fine.
She said the disposal of carcasses was 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.
