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Home / World

Melbourne student throws girlfriend's cat off 45th storey balcony

news.com.au
1 Apr, 2019 10:24 PM2 mins to read

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Chau Chau fell 45 storeys to its death from a Melbourne apartment building. Photo / 123rf

Chau Chau fell 45 storeys to its death from a Melbourne apartment building. Photo / 123rf

A Melbourne university student who says he accidentally threw his girlfriend's cat over the balcony of their high-rise apartment will return to court as his case continues for a second day.

Cheng Lu, 20, claims he had only meant to throw Chau Chau outside to "give the cat a lesson" after it scratched his leg, and had not intended for the pet to fall 45 storeys to its death.

Lu, a computer science student, is fighting charges of animal cruelty and reckless endangerment in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

"The cat liked to scratch us with his claw and at the time the cat scratched my leg and I was annoyed," he said, with the aid of a Chinese interpreter.

"I grabbed the cat and put the cat outside but I might have used a bit too much force."

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Lu's then-girlfriend Kaiqi Chen said she stepped out of the shower just in time to see 1-year-old Chau Chau "in the air".

"I saw the cat being thrown out," she told the court.

Lu and Chen have broken up since Chau Chau died on the pavement of Elizabeth St in April 2018.

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Magistrate Constantinos Kilias is expected to make a decision on the contested hearing when it continues on Tuesday.

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