A restaurant that has not opened for business in a week is being accused of abusing the live fish it kept on hand after nobody showed up to feed them.
One of the fish died and seven were found weakened, according to police.
Police and officers of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals visited the Royal Dragon Seafood Cuisine restaurant on Connaught Road West in Sheung Wan, after a passer-by called police to report the alleged abuse yesterday morning.
"The air pump was on, but there was no food in the fish tank," a source from the SPCA said.
The eight fish were said to be large, but the specific species has not been confirmed.
The seven surviving fish were transferred to Ocean Park in the late afternoon for further checks, as the SPCA does not have equipment to care for fish.