Two arrested in HK dognapping case.

On 5 September 2020, an eight month old poodle named Coffee went missing, believed to be the victim of a dognapping by a couple who reportedly demanded a ransom of HK$40,000 from the owner.

After realising her dog’s disappearance, the frantic owner released a post online seeking the whereabouts of her missing beloved poodle. Quite remarkably, the dognappers responded by contacting her privately to discuss the ransom. In their Whatsapp correspondence, the couple threatened the owner that if she failed to raise the ransom amount, they would chop up part(s) of her dog and would send them to her, as well as also threatening to throw the dog into the sea. The owner subsequently arranged a meet up with the alleged dognappers and contacted the police for their help.

The Sham Shui Po District Animal Investigation Team (深水埗警區動物專責調查隊) looked into CCTV footage and were able to quickly gather intel in order to secure the person(s) of interest. They have since arrested a 23 year old male and 24 year old female in Tin Shui Wai, and retrieved the dog from their apartment. Initial check-up confirmed that the dog was in good health.

According to the interview conducted by HK01 with the owner of the dog, the owner of Coffee and the two arrested are Vietnam compatriots and have supposedly been acquainted with each other for over a year. The owner expressed disappointment towards the couple, whom she saw and trusted as friends. The couple would frequently visit to the owner’s shop to play with Coffee and the male suspect had even jokingly asked the owner to give Coffee to him. She shared that Coffee was gifted to her by a friend and that she would never give her dog away.

The owner further revealed that the couple had previously taken Coffee away but eventually returned the dog to her and as such, she decided not to pursue the matter any further.

Courtesy of Amelia Wang

Main Source: HK01