

Magistrate dismisses charges against student who threw girlfriend's cat over 45th floor balcony

Chau Chau was a “playful” young cat living in a Melbourne apartment until his owner's boyfriend threw him off the 45th floor balcony.
The fatal fall has been declared a "tragic accident" after 20-year-old Cheng Lu admitted he used "a bit too much force" when trying to put the cat outside to teach it a lesson for scratching.
Magistrate Costas Killias today dismissed charges of animal cruelty and reckless endangerment against Mr Lu.
Cheng Lu said he only intended to put the cat out on the balcony, not over the balcony. (AAP)
He found the university computer sciences student did throw the cat over the balcony but had no criminal case to answer.
"This was a terrible accident which led to the death of an innocent and apparently, on all accounts, playful pet. But it was not deliberate," he said.
The magistrate compared the event to a driver accidentally hitting a dog, versus one who actively ran one down out of a dislike of dogs.
The cat's owner, Kaiqu Chen, covers her face as she leaves court after giving evidence against her ex-boyfriend. (AAP)
"I have every sympathy for the poor cat that found itself in this situation, but I have to satisfy myself... whether it was intentional or not," Mr Killias said.

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There was no intended cruelty, he found.
Mr Lu told the court he only meant to throw Chau Chau onto the balcony after the kitten scratched his leg from under a couch in April 2018.
"I grabbed the cat and put the cat outside but I might have used a bit too much force,' Lu said, with the aid of a Chinese interpreter.
The cat landed very close to passers-by in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. (9news)
"I only intended to put the cat on to the balcony, not over the balcony."
The court was previously told Mr Lu launched Chau Chau using a rugby pass-like motion.
Kaiqi Chen, Chau Chau's owner and Mr Lu's then-girlfriend – they have since broken up - watched from the bathroom as her beloved pet sailed "in the air" over the balustrade.
She raced outside to where Chau Chau's body lay in the street.
The cat landed just steps from passers-by on Elizabeth Street.
"Lu Cheng kept saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' on the phone," Ms Chen said.
Senior Constable Tom Roberts had argued the physics of Chau Chau's trajectory, flying two and a half metres through the air from inside the apartment to over the balcony, didn't add up to an accident.
"The cat went so far the only inference that can be drawn was the intention was to put the cat over the balcony," he said.
Mr Kilias rejected that argument and said multiple inferences could be drawn, underpinning his reasonable doubt.

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