Philadelphia police uncover a video of man allegedly abusing kittens, during a shooting investigation. WCAU's Claudia Rivero reports.
A Philadelphia restaurant owner who appeared to be "pulling, tugging, choking" and swinging four kittens by their tails on video has been released from jail after posting bond.
Yu Zhen Chen, 25, was arrested on July 26 when police discovered the video while investigating an unrelated shooting at Chen's takeout restaurant, Red Star Chinese.
"The male was observed in the video pulling, tugging, choking, swinging the kittens by their tail in a very violent motion -- also throwing them, almost like he was bowling with the kittens," Richard Loos, of the Pennsylvania SPCA, told NBCPhiladelphia.com.
The 10-minute video shows Chen was "intending on purposely hurting and torturing these kittens. It's very disturbing," Loos said.
Chen faces multiple counts of animal cruelty. He was released from jail Sunday night after posting bond.
Investigators were able to rescue the mother cat, but only two of her kittens. The cats are recovering at the SPCA; the two other kittens have yet to be located.
Chen and employees at the restaurant declined to comment on the allegations.
"This is not neglect. This is malicious," Loos said. "I'm hoping he does jail time."
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Really, NBC? It's TAILS not TALES. Good grief. In any case I hope this guy has the book thrown at him, and at the very least, the restaurant should be investigated as well - I can only imagine what they really have been serving!
Yes, and notice the actual wording is "their tale" (singular nous with plural pronoun). Sigh.
Brings new meaning to the dish "Shanghai Surprise", which already has a very funny urban meaning.
The editor? And the book you refer to must be the dictionary. :)
I was thinking more like throwing him by his
tail...ooops (by something else) at the bookHe was clearly tenderizing his stir fry.
Sirlafalot,
Ya beat me to it.
Animals are killed for our food and 'suffer' sad deaths all the time. Excess cats are killed all the time as are goats and chickens....this is an example of the THOUSANDS of laws on the books that the bible thumping congress will use to control us.
I can't be the only one that immediately thought:
Now that's just funny! I wonder if the guy knows where to get a good Cup-O-Pizza?
I think they tore that place down.
Animals are completely at our mercy. They deserve our respect; they are no different from ourselves yet we continue to abuse them as we continue to abuse each other with no remorse. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhaur said: "Mankind has made living on the earth a hell for animals." We don't have the right to do this.
TNRebel: Thanks for the heads-up on the Kanpai of Tokyo restaurant in TN. A relative of mine installs commercial air conditioning units and gets into restaurants a lot. He said that sometimes the Chinese restaurants scrape the leftovers from customers plates back into the pot to be re-served. I'm with you - don't eat Chinese food.
Hopefully residents will read this story and boycott the restaurant and put him out of business.
This makes me sick i want to toss my (fortune) cookies.
Those two missing kittens can be found in the soup. Item D6 on the menu: "Pho Ball."
homesick yank: The use of "their tail" was in a quote and though it should have been characterized using [sic] to note, it was not the writer's or editor's mistake.
Sirlafalot
More likely, preparing for a mass murder someplace. Many psychopaths start out small, like this, eventually moving on to torturing and/or killing humans.
Or are you suggesting that he would eventually eat humans? What exactly is your point? That you are funny? Because, even more clearly, you are not.
About 15 years ago, 10 Chinese restaurant in R.I. were closed by the D.O.H. in one day for selling pigeon and cat meat as chicken and pork. They found cages with people's pets in them.
I suspect that for some of these operators that it is a matter of survival for them. Their English language skills may be non-existent, so if the biz' fails, it is not like they are able to take just any other job. So, like people doing bad stuff on Wall St. - or Main St. - they rationalize that it is better to serve people's pet cats to them as pork lo mein than to not able to feed their own kids.
As for the subject in this story. Prison time. Lot's of it. People who torture animals have a disposition to rape and/or murder people, and law enforcers know this. It is all about their being able to exert unbridled control over their helpless victims. They don't deserve to participate freely in society, as they are a threat to it. Not surprising that a shooting is involved in this case.
On aside, wouldn't it be great to finally rid ourselves of drug prohibition laws, so we can empty our prisons, freeing up space to incarcerate the truly dangerous law-breakers for extended sentences?
ppl that deliberately abuse animals shouldn't have acess 2 even b near them let alone have them .all 4 of my pets have all been rescues, that careless and unfeeling ppl have dumped off 2 fend 4 themselves , the youngest is only 2 months old my son Chris found her wandering down the highway . she's only a tiny kitten /.who in their right mind can do that 2 a defenseless animal. It's just sick.
I would like to toss that fool!
More likely the offspring of feral cats that are being fed by the locals that later wonder why there are so many wild cats in the neighborhood.
Actually, the Kanpai of Tokyo restaurant is Japanese, not Chinese; but I think their philosophy toward animal welfare is similar. They continue to slaughter endangered whales, ignoring the international ban, claiming "research on the animals", when whale meat is actively sold in fish markets. I don't patronize Japanese restaurants, either.
TN,
Just an FYI, Tokyo is in JAPAN. That would make it a JAPANESE Restaurant, not Chinese. Kanpai is a Japanese phrase.
Thanks Mozzie, you beat me to it.
ya ended up in the stir fry. the cops missed the real crime.
they should also check the soy sauce to make sure it is not Bug juice
First the restaurant has to be completely investigated. Second make sure all the other prisoners know what he did. See if he likes to be tossed around by his tail.
From his name, the guy is probably an immigrant and he probably has no idea of why he is in trouble. I have lived in quite a few other countries (China included) and it is shocking how cruel treatment of animals is accepted as the norm in other places.
Of course, other countries find it utterly shocking that we allow people to buy semi-automatics and keep arsenals at home and allow people to shoot a person on their property...and that we allow people to die because they could not afford to go to the doc when they first got ill.....so I guess cruelty is all in one's cultural perspective.
I doubt you lived anywhere other than under the bridge you are living under now troll. If you don't like the freedoms we have here, go back to China. If someone allows themselves to die because they don't seek medical care then it is their own fault.
Ummm...WeAllHaveOpinions...you may want to keep in mind that we all have opinions.
One of the single most un-American things a person can say is 'if you don't like it leave the country'. Aren't there things you don't like? Should you leave?
Troll? weallhaveopinions, Real funny thing you mention about freedom...homesick is exercising his right of freedom of speech and you call him a troll? WTF! I don't agree with homesick's 2nd paragraph but calling him a troll?
Maybe, just maybe weallhaveopinions you should abide by your moniker... We All Have Opinions. How about respecting homesick's opinion? And you have the gall to
sit...hide behind your monitor calling someone a troll. Maybe you should sit in front of a mirror instead.homesick yank
Actually this is problematic as immigrants should understand the culture they live in...I am certain that you understand that premise.
And yet he was not busted in one of these other countries he was busted in America.
Of course they are shocked because the either live in nanny states or under oppressive regimes. Many of these people in other countries own nothing of value there fore they have nothing to protect. Many of these people in other countries are used to being victims. Many of us in America have no interest in being victims and well one of my obligations as a parent is to protect my children. Someone coming into my home to violate my daughter, sons or my dog would likely be greeted by me with a gun. So I suppose that we can say Many of these people don't value their children as we do in America.
Seriously, if someone in America is ill they have access to doctors and hospitals and if they actually care that their bills are covered there are many charities that will support their treatment. Of course in many countries chairity is not something the population will support. We have a network of free clinics....sadly, many of these clinics are actually run and used to propagate unwarranted access to prescription drugs with an intent to abuse insurance companies, medicare and medicaid. If they were true to their purpose they would actually support the true health needs of their communities not just the addictions.
Not so much when living in America. We have a fairly clear standard of what cruelty is and cat juggling and tossing clearly apply.
@txmom32: Seriously, you think if someone without insurance in the US goes to a hospital, a charity covers the cost? It comes out of your insurance premiums and inflated charges if you as an insured person goes to the hospital.
(As to your other point, yes, the person was busted in the US for animal cruelty, not in another country. That's the point the poster was making. Animal cruelty is more accepted in other countries he's been in.)
Jeebus H,
A story about some jackwad torturing kittens turns into an arguement about gun rights, immigrants, health care and freedom of speech.
No wonder we never get anything productive done.
No, actually the social worker on staff will more than likely begin paperwork to help the indigent patient obtain medicaid--usually they will qualify for something even if employed. And, if the medicaid doesn't cover all the costs, the social worker or sometimes the floor administrative assistant (if the medical facility can't afford a social worker) will apply for local charity aid if available. At this point, if there are still costs that can't be recovered, the hospital will swing those fees to the insured patients accordingly.
Boudica20...It is interesting that you find a need to champion the poor and yet you had nothing to say about the abuse of those systems that are available to the poor. Unfortunately it isn't just the poor in America who feel no obligation to pay for services rendered, some actually go to Hospitals and offer up bogus information for billing. That is a big issue in my state, many people seek to defraud hospitals. These are the cases that cannot be coverd by ligitimate medical chairities because these people lie and cheat the system. I happen to live in an area with a huge medical complex/industry. If a patient, in earnest, cannot affor care for say Cancer there are avenues patients can take to get quality, life saving, cancer treatment without insurance or money in the bank. As Masonand Dixon put it a social worker will help people find the access to economic support.
The Cheats are the ones that cost us dearly through premiums and added costs to medical care. So are you actually championing the poor or the cheats? According to homesick yank, he apparently believes that we turn away patients in need of care...that is a false assumption. Perhaps you should consider taking comments in context.
You didn't really follow that point either. Someone coming to live in America should have a basic understanding or our laws and values (we do not throw kittens, choke kittens or bowl kittens in the United States. We place a value in the lives of domestic pets and livestock, we offer only certain seasons to hunt most wildlife and generally promote humane treatment of animals. If they are unwilling to abide by our standars of humanity with regards to animals then they should probably stay in their home country where their personal values align with their cultural values.
I don't see the use of their TALES. Maybe it was changed since you complained.
WeAllHaveOpinions: And your opinion appears to be closely related to the other thing everyone has.
Had some A-hole on my sisters facebook friends list, who posted that he purposely ran over a kitten with his truck, then proceeded to laugh about it. IXeroxed his post and then reported him to the authorities in his town in Kentucky. He removed his facebook page about 3 hours later. Seth Stinnert ....... I hope you got what you deserve, which is to get run over by a big truck.
Good going Deemo!!! Oh my word and have mercy! This just sickens me to damn death! Kittens are just so cute and adorable--I just can't imagine someone wanting to hurt them instead of cuddle them and protect the sweet ones. There are the cutest kittens at one of our libraries living in the woods in the back and everyone leaves food, water, milk for mom and babies---not tossing them up in the air and throwing them against the library back door! Savages--I don't want to here about "cultural differences"! People know when they are doing wrong most of the time--some countries allow grown men to marry 12 year olds and beastiality but I know there are probably thousands of people in those nations that will never partake in any of these acts regardless--because they know it is wrong. Sorry for the off tangent vent....*sigh*
I will never, ever understand how someone can abuse any animal. Sickens me!
Hope this guy gets the maximum sentence. Unfortunately, the max usually isn't enough. We definitely need tougher laws!
That's fantastic Deemo! Good job. It is everyone's responsibility to not turn ones back in our animals. They can't call 911, and they depend on us to look out for them.
Pretty harsh. Make you feel better?
It doesn't matter whether the animal is cute or ugly, young or old, sick or not, whatever. Animal abuse is sickening.
If you wouldn't want it done to yourself, DON'T do it to an animal. And go one step further: even if you like an activity (e.g. swimming, smoking), consider that the animal may not and RESPECT their feelings.
Keep in mind that people who abuse animals are more likely to also abuse kids and spouses, set fires, and act out violent and torturous revengeful thoughts. I don't care what ethnicity this guy is, he is sick in the mind to get pleasure out of causing pain to others.
In some states there is a law/rule/procedure that if an abused animal is pulled out of a household the local social services is also informed so that they can visit to make sure any children or vulnerable adults in the household are doing okay and not abused.
My municipality has been pushing to get the same law passed but has been stalled every year for the last five years.
Are you vegan?
I feel sick. He definitely needs to pay a fine/jail time/or community work for a humane society. It is so sad that people can treat animals like this. They hurt, they have feelings too. The damage he has done to them will take someone lots of time to undo.
Absolutely NOT!
As a longtime volunteer at an inner-city animal shelter, the moment someone accused of animal cruelty gets a community service judgement they are banned from being able to do it at our shelter.
An animal that bites a person is euthanized because there is no guarantee that it will NEVER do it again. I really don't see why this doesn't apply to people as well--if you are cruel to an animal you should be banned from any contact with any animal for the rest of your life because there is no way, short of a lobotomy, that society can be sure you will NEVER do it again.
I stand corrected Amanda. I now agree with you. I will go back to my first two thoughts which were fines and jail time. Hopefully partial fine money could go to the shelters.
This POS needs to DIE!!!
Well...he's a POS, but die? really? come on.
I agree, we don't need another person around who is capable of this kind of cruelty. Hope he dies.
LOL! Yup...fight cruelty WITH cruelty!! Makes perfect sense to me!! LOL! Jesus you imbeciles are so f*cking DUMB! Do you even think before you post your stupid comments? Obviously not.
Did a 3 year old write this article? Cats have tails, not tales!
C'mon Dave, give the "author" a brake. He/she at least spelled
Kat...ooops Cat right. :-)Oh, B4 someone misinterprets, the "brake" was intentional. Just in case someone thought I screwed up break.
Oh, believe me, CATS HAVE TALES too.
Why're you talking about aircraft?
This was at a restaurant no less- another reason why I do not frequent Asian establishments
The Mexican restaurant in south Modesto was busted by the health department after finding numerous dog and cat carcasses in their dumpster.
There had been reports of missing pets for months and there WAS an obvious lack of mutts wandering the low-class neighborhoods with some of the city's highest crime rates.
Several of the employees were deported for being illegal invaders of the once-sovereign USA.
The place WAS dirty but for those with past exposure to germs from backwards downtrodden ignorant-culture-laden countries could dine there with little risk of sickness.
The food was good and was real Mexican grub, not that squeeky clean but bland Taco Bell stuff.
Meeow. Woof.
The event occurred in the early 1980s.
Oh that's nasty. Lost my lunch appetite. I guess this is the site to come to if you are dieting.
Gotta tenderize that meat some way, why not have some fun?
Wonder if he at least washed his hands before starting his food prep work...
Hope the Philadelphia Health Dept doesn't find out if he didn't!
Trolls or not - your two are pricks.
or have gallows humor, remove the stick from your arse and move on
Storytelling kittens (and their TALES)...
Why is it that any other group of people can openly speak and stand up for their beliefs, but if Christians do the same everybody starts boycotting their businesses and persecuting them? Wise up folks, this country was founded by GODLY people, that's why "IN GOD WE TRUST" is our motto!
Sorry, somehow I posted to the wrong article.
pamper, alot of the founding fathers were very anti religion. although, i'm not surprised you're ignorant of that fact.
Thomas Jefferson
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world and I do not find
in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature."
John Adams
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the
Christian religion."
also, it's very hypocritical of you to say that chic fil a should be able to stand up for their beliefs and when others do by boycotting them you have a problem with it, especially when chrisitians are now boycotting amazon, the muppets and the berenstein bears. basically, you should stop posting cause it's making you look like an idiot, especially since this topic has nothing to do with any of what you posted.
Well Said Hatr_Hurter.... Pamperkins should look up what Thomas Jefferson had written on his grave stone, as well as there are no documents where George Washington uses the word God.
"in God We Trust" was added in the 1950's and is something the founding Fathers would have fought to keep OFF of our currency. The word "God" was also added to the pledge of allegiance in the early 1900's and the writer of the original who was a minister, as per his daughter, would have been very angry about it being added.
Learn history, turn off Fox, stop listening to Glen Beck and learn REAL history. This country was founded under NO religious ideals, if any it would have been Deism. Finally if we were founded as a Christian Nation it would say so in our constitution and we would be required to be Christians.. PERIOD...
Now back to our topic.
Ex-educator proclaiming that in my Disgruntled Old Coot Opinion (tm) USA educational systems, both public and private, primarily exist to indoctrinate youth to be obedient and accepting of their ruling-class masters, corporate USA, special-interest groups and the bureaucracies designed to support the ruling masters and to control the VAST majority of despised commoners.
A few "academies" exist that educate the vile spawn of the ruling masters and upper-class folks without the brainwashing the commoner's kids receive and to train the future masters.
Yes, the USA is a class-based society/country/culture.
Special emphasis is placed upon the masses obeying and fearing law enforcement. Especially the jack-booted thug lackeys of the ruling masters.
Ample evidence in USA history of force and extreme force used to make the commoner OBEY!!!!!!
Yes, murder is one of the many acts used to control the despised commoners.
Love it or leave it.
Actually the original 'motto' of the country is 'E Pluribus Unum'
"Out of many, one."
And our country has risen from the conglomeration of many cultures, many races, many belief systems. Despite dissenting opinions, we have always stood as one in the face of disasters and external attack, and we have tried to hold true to 'Out of many, one'--with some regrettable departures, such as the near-extermination of the Native American population, the miscegenation laws of the late 1890's, the race divide that birthed the civil rights movement, and Manzanar, just to name a few.
Yet, through it all, through everything that seeks to divide us, we have as a nation always stood together when the chips were down. For two hundred plus years of our nation's history we 'many' have stood as 'one'.
And I firmly believe, even with the many issues that divide us now, we will continue to stand as 'one.'
Good grief. Not only is the story sickening, but the writer can't write.
(or is it that the right can't right?) Saving too much money on editors???
Age 25 is a little old to be playing with your food.
"Age 25 is a little old to be playing with your food."
Rarely do I guffaw or chortle in a manner that others at a distance can hear me.
I did today after reading the above.
A 6-pack of tuna for the poster.
I am so tired of reading about people abusing animals...what is wrong...maybe if he spends time behind bars he will know what its like to have others in control...and maybe he needs someone to throw him around.
The location of the other two kittens: Try the Kung Pao Kitten. Number 37 on the menu.
The kittens that are missing will never be found. They are on stick smothered in teriyaki sauce.
I was thinking the same thing LOL. Cats go missing at a chinese food restaurant, insert joke here.
Teriyaki sauce is Japanese. This guy would be offended that you are insinuating that he's Japanese.
What a MF....I hope he goes to prison for animal cruelty and one of his bf/gf tosses him around the room!!
My guess is some of his diners probably got served the two missing cats. What a sicko.
I hope the police also checked the freezer for other cats! I know this from experience! Had been eating at a particular restaurant for a while, when we found out they had been busted for drugs, but during the investigation, they found cat and dog in the freezer and that is what they were serving. I will never be able to eat Asian food again.
Good Lord - I've heard about this - cat juggling! Stop! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Good. Father, could there be a God that would let this happen?
People who are cruel to animals often end up hurting people. Unfortunately animal cruelty is not a felony so even if he is convicted he can still buy lots of guns and ammo thanks to the NRA!
Wow, from animal abuse to slamming the NRA. Now how the heck did you that out of the article? Where is the word gun in the article? Didn't see NRA either. This frilling POS tortured these kittens without a gun or any NRA help.
STAY THE F#$K ON SUBJECT! +1 No Value on your post.
Start a boycott of this moron's restaurant (sounds like a portable dump) and throw his name and picture all over Facebook. Should not be allowed to live free in this country. Scum like him are a danger to children also.
Kitten tossing makes the news, but unarmed civilians in Anaheim being bullied by cops doesn't? I just don't understand the mindset of corporate news media anymore. Our country is headed for the crapper and you clowns report drivel. Why not mention that "Fatherland" security and the Army are ordering riot gear because of fears of civil unrest? Why not mention that the clown posse in Washington is trying to take away our guns? No - you report about kitten tossing. Way to go reporters, ( can't call you journalists since you no longer invesigate the true stories in America).
if you can't find that story then it's cause you aren't looking very hard.
Rocky, you need mental therapy if you don't understand why this article is so disturbing. I revoked my donor card years ago due to fear of some loser getting my organs.
Violence against humans is not a reason to condone violence against animals, and there is tons of news about it (human vs human violence), every day, so I don't see your point.
Anyways, I'd like 5 minutes with that kitten tossing piece of s**t ...
"Violence against humans is not a reason to condone violence against animals..."
Especially since violence against animals can easily become violence against humans.
Nikolaus20
Very true Nikolaus. A few years ago I saw a video of a kid who almost killed a dog, beating him with a stick (the kid was running after him, but the poor dog had no idea the kid wanted to hurt him). I would never trust that kid and I won't be surprised if I hear he assaulted a human as well.
i think his point was that serial killers all start out by hurting animals first.
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-link-between-animal-abuse-serial-killers-622128.html
FREAK!!
I could definitely see this story making it into the plot of an "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" episode, lol.
Seriously though, animal cruelty is wrong. Although everything is relative. In some countries eating dog or cat is fairly common, and in India they would not eat cow. Different cultures place different value on certain types of animals. No matter where you are though, animal cruelty is still wrong.
Even as a lifelong cat lover who can't resist kittens, I'd like to point out that if he did the same to something not considered to be cute and fuzzy, baby rats for example, there would not be near as much outrage