It’s five months since eight feral cattle were killed in a heartless hit and run around the Upper Cheung Sha Beach section of the South Lantau Road, but there has been no news of anyone being charged or a prosecution.
Residents are still shocked and saddened at the callousness of the driver or drivers who sped away from the scene, leaving five cows and calves dead and three more so badly hurt they had to be destroyed. One small calf was only two weeks old.
Though feral, these cows are very tame and friendly, but have a tendency to sleep in a line along the roadside, with their heads pointing into the road. This was their undoing.
The reward offered by anonymous donors to catch the culprit now stands at HK$150,000. At the time the SCMP reported that a woman, 49, was arrested and released on bail after her Mitsubishi SUV was found parked close by in Tong Fuk car park, dented and containing animal hair and blood.
She was arrested and later released on bail without a charge and was required to report back to police a week later. "The vehicle was found with damage, animal hair and blood," a police investigator said, adding that he believed the cattle were lying on the road before a vehicle ran over them.
"We believe the cows were hit very hard," the SPCA’s public relations manager, Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling, said. "Some had been dragged along the road." Local animal welfare groups had criticised the police who said when they received the report that "no crime element was involved".
Police accused of not caring