Irvine police have arrested an animal trainer, Kwong "Tony" Chun Sit, and his girlfriend Tingfeng Liu, following the deaths of at least 10 dogs that were placed under Sit's care. These arrests took place late Thursday evening, and the pair faces charges of animal cruelty and destruction of evidence. According to the KTLA, the investigation began after a pet owner informed the officers that their dog had died in its sleep while being looked after by Sit and was subsequently cremated without their consent or prior knowledge.
Further to the inquiries, detectives managed to quickly recover the bodies of several canines from various local crematoriums. "We are working closely with veterinary professionals who will perform necropsies to determine how the dogs died," reported the Irvine Police Department via their official Facebook page. The primary focus for authorities is to conclusively ascertain whether the deaths were accidental or intentional. Sit, 53, and Liu, 23, now await charges at Orange County Jail.
Detectives also mentioned that Sit might have operated under multiple company names, including "Happy K9 Academy," and offered his training services throughout Southern California. This development suggests more potential victims may exist beyond the initially reported cases. Anyone with additional information or who might have been affected is encouraged to contact Irvine PD's Detective Rebecca Steen at [email protected], as announced in a CBS News report.
Further complicating matters is the fact that some of the animals' remains were recovered at different crematoriums, indicating an attempt, perhaps to obstruct the investigation, by dispersing evidence. Irvine PD underscored the nature of these acts as suspicious, which subsequently led to the couple's arrest. As detailed in a Facebook post by the Irvine Police Department, "Based on suspicious activity after the incident, including the attempted cremation of the dogs, detectives arrested Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit... for animal cruelty and destruction of evidence last night."
