Boyfriend, 20, who sent girlfriend's beloved cat hurtling to its death from the 45th floor 'did not act deliberately'
- Chau Chau the cat died in April 2018 after being tossed out off a balcony
- Cheng Lu, 20, claimed it was not deliberate after appearing in court on Tuesday
- Lu's charges were dismissed after magistrate ruled it was a 'terrible accident'
The unfortunate demise of a playful kitty, thrown in a rugby pass-like motion from a 45th floor Melbourne balcony, has been declared a 'tragic accident'.
Chau Chau the cat died in April last year after being tossed out of an apartment door by his owner's then-boyfriend, 20-year-old Cheng Lu.
Magistrate Constantinos Kilias on Tuesday dismissed charges of animal cruelty and reckless endangerment against Mr Lu, finding 'it was not deliberate' that the university computer sciences student had thrown the cat over the balcony.
Chau Chau the cat died in April last year after being tossed out of an apartment door by his owner's then-boyfriend, 20-year-old Cheng Lu (pictured)
Mr Lu's then-girlfriend Kaiqi Chen (pictured) said she stepped out of the shower just in time to see one-year-old Chau Chau 'in the air'
'This was a terrible accident which led to the death of an innocent and apparently, on all accounts, playful pet. But it was not deliberate,' he said.
The magistrate compared the event to a driver accidentally hitting a dog, versus one who actively ran one down out of a dislike of dogs.
'I have every sympathy for the poor cat that found itself in this situation, but I have to satisfy myself ... whether it was intentional or not,' Mr Killias said.
Mr Lu told the court he only meant to throw Chau Chau outside to 'give the cat a lesson' after it scratched his leg, and hadn't intended it to fall 45 storeys to its death.
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'I grabbed the cat and put the cat outside but I might have used a bit too much force,' Lu said, with the aid of a Chinese interpreter.
'I only intended to put the cat on to the balcony, not over the balcony.'
Mr Lu's then-girlfriend Kaiqi Chen said she stepped out of the shower just in time to see one-year-old Chau Chau 'in the air'.
'I saw the cat being thrown out,' she told the court with the help of a Chinese interpreter.
Cheng Lu is seen leaving the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being let go
The court was previously told Mr Lu launched Chau Chau using a rugby pass-like motion.
Senior Constable Tom Roberts had argued Chau Chau's trajectory, flying two-and-a-half metres through the air from inside the apartment to over the balcony, didn't add up to an accident.
'The cat went so far the only inference that can be drawn was the intention was to put the cat over the balcony,' he said.
But Mr Kilias rejected the argument, saying that was not the only inference that could be drawn, creating reasonable doubt as to Mr Lu's intent.
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