A man who pepper sprayed five cats in Houtong Cat Village last week "because he was in a bad mood" has been arrested on suspicion of animal abuse, New Taipei City police said today.
According to a police investigation, the 28-year-old suspect, surnamed Lee (李), left his home in New Taipei City's Yonghe District (永和) on Friday and took a train to Houtong (猴硐) carrying a bottle of pepper spray he had purchased.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
At about 4pm, one of the village's on-site staff members noticed a pungent, acrid smell and went over to investigate, discovering five cats in a state of distress, of which four could not open their eyes.
After contacting a vet, who washed the cats' eyes with a saline solution, the cats gradually recovered, while the incident was reported to police.
According to the New Taipei City Police Department's Ruifang Precinct, an investigation using surveillance video footage was able to identify Lee as a suspect in the attack.
Yesterday, police went to Lee's home in Yonghe and brought him back for questioning, where he admitted to harming the cats "because he was in a bad mood," the precinct said.
After questioning, Lee was referred to New Taipei City prosecutors to be investigated for violations of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法).
Houtong is a former coal mining town in the mountains east of Taipei whose abundance of stray cats have made it a tourist attraction.
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