Hong Kong police are investigating a case of animal cruelty after a dead cat was found hanging from a tree with a rope around its neck in North Point on Saturday.

According to the force, officers received a report at around 1.20pm and arrived at the North Point Promenade Pet Garden, where they found the brown and white cat hanging from a tree with a blue nylon rope around its neck.

Police combed the area for evidence and untied the body, which was handed over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the force added

It was unclear whether the animal was a pet or a wild cat. The case has been classified as cruelty to animals, which is punishable by up to three years in jail and a HK$200,000 (US$25,500) fine.

The incident follows a string of animal cruelty cases this year. A Yorkshire terrier died in May following surgery to remove 18 fragments from its battered head. Police were searching for the boyfriend of the pet owner’s mother, who was believed to have brutally abused the dog.

A 57-year-old hospital assistant was arrested in June on suspicion of animal cruelty after two cats fell to their deaths from a public housing estate block. She surrendered herself to authorities and claimed she had forgotten to close her window after collecting clothes from a drying rack.

The SPCA on Saturday said the animal was an adult cat. The body was taken to the organisation’s Kowloon centre and would subsequently be sent to a government lab for a postmortem examination, it added.

Main Source: SCMP