A Hong Kong security guard who tied up a building resident’s missing cat in a plastic bag and dumped it in a rubbish bin has been sentenced to four months in prison, with the magistrate saying his actions had probably led to the animal’s death in a landfill site.
Kwun Tong Court on Thursday sentenced Chou Wing-lok, a former security guard at a residential building in Ngau Tau Kok, for one count of cruelty to animals.
On the night of August 6 last year, a resident living on the ninth floor of Lee Kee Building, contacted the security desk, saying a stray cat had entered their flat.
Chou, the attending guard, went up to the flat. He put the cat in a plastic bag, tied it up and dumped it in a bin at the ground-floor rubbish station.
The next day, the pet’s owner sought help from the security desk while putting up missing notices around the premises.
The owner believed the cat had slipped out of his flat when his relatives had taken out the rubbish the previous night, leaving the door open.
The owner asked a neighbour whose front door was fitted with a security camera whether he could review the hallway footage. In the footage, he saw Chou leaving another flat with a plastic bag.
