Alex Lu: Kitten killed at Pitt St, Sydney unit, student sentenced
A fresh faced teenager has been sentenced for a disturbing cold-blooded act of cruelty on a 12-week-old kitten. Police found blood stains encrusted with kitten teeth and bone across the student’s unit, leading him to give what has been described as an ‘extraordinary’ account of what happened.
Central Sydney
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Sydney. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A fresh faced teenager who inflicted a disturbing cold-blooded act of cruelty on a 12-week-old kitten, named ‘Earthquake’, has been punished.
After three weeks of owning the ginger kitten, Chinese university student Alex Lu, 19, transported the animal’s distorted dead body wrapped in plastic and dumped it in the basement carpark of Princeton Apartments, located at Pitt St, Sydney.
The carcass was found inside a backpack on April 13, leading police swiftly to Lu’s bloody apartment. Blood was found across his bathroom, balcony and on a white bathrobe, with police facts tendered to court revealing kitten teeth and bone were “encrusted” in the stains.
When police officers asked the Sydney man to explain the situation, he delivered an account described as “extraordinary” by Magistrate Erin Kennedy.
Lu said Earthquake had been covered in diarrhoea and as he washed the kitten in the bathroom sink the animal jumped to the ground “causing his jaw to snap in two”.
The university student said he continued to wash the cat before leaving it on his balcony overnight. A neighbour reported to the building’s concierge a cat crying repeatedly that night.
The next day Earthquake was found dead on the balcony by Lu, who responded by cutting the kitten’s nails before dumping the body.
“It is an extraordinary account that does not make a lot of sense, to be honest,” Magistrate Kennedy said.
The court heard during the ordeal, Lu went to the internet for guidance.
Despite glowing character references and strong family support, including Lu’s parents coming to Australia to help their son, calls to not record a criminal conviction against Lu were ignored.
The 19-year-old was placed on a two-year community correction order and ordered to undergo 150 hours of community service.