A Hong Kong court has ruled that there’s enough evidence to proceed with a case involving a woman charged with throwing her dog from her fifth-floor apartment window last year.
Eling Cheung Sze-ling, was charged with one count of animal cruelty after she was arrested for allegedly throwing the brown toy poodle out of her apartment in the Shin Ming Estate in Tseung Kwan O in January of 2018.
On.cc reports that Cheung has been out on bail since her first court appearance last June.
The case was back in Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court this morning, where the court heard evidence from arresting officer Yu Tak-nam, who said that when he arrived at the scene, he found a number of pet supplies on the canopy alongside the dog’s body, including clothes, toys, and dishes.
Police also found a wallet and small medicine pouches bearing the defendant’s name, HK01 reports.
Yu told the court that police also found dog hair close to the window, consistent with reports from eye witnesses that the dog had been thrown from the window.
Dr. Jenny Tsoi Wai-shan — a veterinary officer from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) — told the court that the dog had sustained multiple fractures, on.cc reports.
The prosecution also heard that Cheung told officers during a police interview: “I haven’t seen the dog in months; I never threw it out onto the street!”
Throughout the interview, Cheung referred to the dog as “Cheung jai jai,” “jai jai” being a term of endearment in Cantonese for a child or pet.
She told police that she has had the dog since 2007 after buying him from a pet shop in Mong Kok, and that they moved from a sub-divided “coffin home” in Tsuen Wan to the public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O in 2011.
She told the police that she took the dog for a walk in December 2017, but it ran away. Though she said she couldn’t find it, she didn’t report it to the police.
Cheung did admit to throwing various pet supplies out of her window because they were “too small, too old, and too dirty.”
The court heard that she also cried uncontrollably when shown a photo of the dog.
The defense did not call any witnesses, but maintained that the prosecution didn’t know the time or location of the dog’s death, and disputed the prosecution’s argument that because Cheung had thrown pet supplies out the window she must also be responsible for throwing the dog.
The magistrate adjourned the case until on May 28, and the defendant remains on bail.
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