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Clifford Lo

Hong Kong police have launched a criminal investigation after more than 30 pigeons and a sparrow were found dead at a public housing estate over a 13-hour period on Sunday and Monday.
Slices of bread and a paper plate of leftover minced meat were seized at the scene at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po and taken to a government laboratory to check if they were laced with poison, police said on Monday.
Police were first called to the estate off Chung Nga Road shortly after 7pm on Sunday when a passer-by found several pigeon carcasses near Heng Yiu House. Officers found a total of 18 pigeon carcasses in the area.
Officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department were also called in.

At around 8.30am on Monday, officers were sent to the estate again after a security guard discovered more dead birds. Police found the carcasses of 13 pigeons and a sparrow.
An SPCA spokeswoman said all the carcasses would be sent to the department’s Tai Lung Veterinary Laboratory in Sheung Shui for necropsies.
A police source said initial examinations found no wounds on the dead birds, which were scattered around an open area near Heng Yiu House.
He said some were also found on the building’s canopy, a walkway cover and a nearby hillside.
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According to police, another 10 pigeons which appeared to be ill were also found at the scene in the two incidents and taken away by department officers.
“At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest the death of the birds involved poisoning,” Chief Inspector Fan Wai-ho of the Tai Po criminal investigation unit said.
He said saliva was found on the beak of some pigeons.
“We don’t rule out any possibility over the cause of death, such as taking poisonous food or bird illness,” Fan said.
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He said police had to wait for test and necropsy results to establish the cause of death.
On Monday afternoon, a Police Tactical Unit team was also called in to search the estate and nearby hillside.
Police have temporarily classified the two cases as animal cruelty. Detectives from the Tai Po criminal investigation unit are handling them. So far, no one has been arrested.
In November last year, police arrested an 84-year-old man on suspicion of injuring a pigeon with a wooden stick at another public housing estate in Tai Po, Tai Wo Estate, after bird droppings landed on him.
Six weeks later, he was apprehended for the same offence after being accused of beating a pigeon with a wooden stick in another incident on the same estate.
In Hong Kong, animal cruelty carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a HK$200,000 (US$25,650) fine.


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Hong Kong


Slices of bread, leftover minced meat seized at scene at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po and taken to government laboratory for tests
Police first called to estate shortly after 7pm on Sunday when passer-by found several pigeon carcasses



Slices of bread and leftover minced meat seized at the scene at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po and taken to a government laboratory for tests.


Crime

Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police

Hong Kong police launch probe after more than 30 dead birds found on housing estate

Slices of bread, leftover minced meat seized at scene at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po and taken to government laboratory for tests Police first called to estate shortly after 7pm on Sunday when passer-by found several pigeon carcasses

Slices of bread, leftover minced meat seized at scene at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po and taken to government laboratory for tests

Police first called to estate shortly after 7pm on Sunday when passer-by found several pigeon carcasses