A Hong Kong court sentenced a former security guard to 4 months in prison for animal cruelty after he placed a cat in a plastic bag and threw it into a trash bin. The court concluded that his actions caused the animal to die in the garbage dump.
According to reports, 62-year-old Chow Wing-lok was working as a night guard on August 6 last year at the Lee Kee Building in the Ngau Tau Kok area of Hong Kong. That day, a resident reported to the security service about a cat that had entered their apartment.
Footage from surveillance cameras reviewed during the investigation showed the guard entering the apartment with a black plastic bag and shortly after emerging carrying a tied bag. It was later revealed that he threw the bag into a trash bin. Since the garbage was collected, the cat could not be found.
Chow Wing-lok told the police that the cat was lying motionless when he found it. However, the court deemed it gross negligence that he did not check the animal's condition, did not attempt to identify its owner, and hastily discarded the cat as garbage.
The judge emphasized that cruel treatment of animals is absolutely unacceptable in society and sentenced the defendant to 4 months in prison.
