Taiwan Now Looks For Fugitive Cat Smuggler In HK

Even as the extradition case of a fugitive to Taiwan continues to be a hot topic of discussion in the SAR, the authorities in the island have indicated they are looking for one more Hongkonger – this time for stealing and smuggling two cats.

The alleged cat burglar from Hong Kong reportedly stole two Persian kittens and then smuggled them through Taiwan's biggest airport by hiding them under her clothes and pretending to be pregnant, media reports say.

The brazen theft prompted authorities at Taoyuan airport to launch an investigation into how the woman was able to breeze through security without her feline contraband being spotted, Apple Daily reported.

The Taiwanese tabloid said police obtained footage from the airport showing the woman, carrying a white bag, leaving a public washroom more plump than when she entered before passing through security.

Cat breeder Chang Chin-yi said she noticed two kittens – Anngi and Da Lili – had been stolen on February 5.

Chang stays in an upmarket suburb of New Taipei City where she has some 40 Persian cats that sell for as much as US$3,300 each.

The cat breeder said she immediately suspected a Hong Kong woman who planned to buy Anngi of the cat theft, and had stayed at her house the month before.

Chang changed her mind on the purchase fearing the woman already had too many cats.

Surveillance footage outside Chang's apartment showed the woman leaving through a side door with a cat under each arm, before bundling them into a white bag.

She confronted the woman on Facebook messenger who eventually admitted the theft, according to images of private messages Chang posted publicly on Facebook.

New Taipei City Police Department confirmed it was treating the incident as a burglary – although they have limited recourse given Hong Kong and Taiwan have no extradition agreement.

Their request for the return of a Hong Kong teen who is suspected to have killed his girlfriend during a holiday to Taipei also has not been accepted, with the SAR citing the lack of any extradition treaty. But now the Hong Kong government is planning to amend the laws which will allow such a transfer.

Chang said she planned to travel to Hong Kong in the coming days to pursue legal options.

It is not clear what Anngi and Da Lili's fate will now be.

Cats arriving without documentation in Hong Kong must spend at least four months in quarantine or face being put down. Taiwan only accepts cats from Hong Kong that have certificates showing they are free of rabies. (AFP)