10 turtles stabbed with pencils at Hong Kong hospital pond, leaving 6 dead
Police open animal cruelty investigation after second such incident at hospital
Ten red-eared terrapins were found stabbed with pencils in a pond at a Hong Kong public hospital on Thursday, six of them dead and four severely injured.
Local police launched an animal cruelty investigation after the turtles were found in an outdoor pond on the second floor of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.
As of 5pm on Thursday, the four survivors, still with pencils in them, were receiving treatment at the Wan Chai centre of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The case came to light when a staff member at the hospital off Lok Man Road made a report to police at about 11.30am.
Nine of the turtles, also known as red-eared sliders, were found with pencils still in them, and some had multiple ones protruding from their bodies, according to a society spokeswoman.
She said six of the 10 had died and the four others were alive but badly hurt.
