Han Bin’s pet cat is a cuddly tortoiseshell he found abandoned in Vittoriosa some 12 years ago.
I feel sad because my driver was accused of killing cats when he has been taking good care of Omeng
The managing director of a Chinese clothing company based in Malta, Mr Han’s eyes light up when speaking of the cat, which he named Omeng – Chinese for EU – in 2004 to commemorate Malta’s EU membership.
But Mr Han could hardly believe his cat would one day lead to the arrest of a fellow Chinese man who works as a driver with his company.
The driver was arrested on Friday night while dining at a Chinese restaurant after the police received a tip-off that the white van he drives was seen collecting stray cats.
Two days earlier the Animal Welfare Department had issued a public appeal for information after cat lovers said a couple in a white van were going round catching stray cats.
Many on social media claimed they were being snatched for their meat or fur, whipping up a frenzy that Chinese restaurants could be to blame. The story went viral, so when a pet shop owner sold €95 worth of cat food to a Chinese man driving a white van on Friday morning it raised alarm bells. He immediately reported the matter and number plate to the police.
But a flabbergasted Mr Han said his driver was innocent and the whole episode was down to a number of unfortunate circumstances connected with his beloved pet.
The Chinese man was released by police and no charges have been filed against him. A magisterial inquiry is ongoing. “My driver buys cat food in bulk every three or four weeks,” Mr Han said, explaining that for the past two years Omeng started eatingsoft food.
He explained his cat only ate the sauce and nibbles around the chunkier parts of its food. “A lot of the food goes to waste but I don’t mind because she is old and deserves to be cared for. I love her.” Over the past 12 years since adopting the cat, Mr Han claims to have spent more than €8,000 in pet food and his driver is the one who buys it.
He says the driver takes care of the kitchen at the Ħal Far barracks where some 130 Chinese nationals live. The Chinese community is made up of workers employed by Mr Han’s company that produces women’s clothing for top European brands. Mr Han says incomplete information that caused havoc for local Chinese restaurants may have reached the media after the police arrested his employee on Friday night when the van was reported in Marsascala. “He was simply dining at the restaurant with his wife and some friends and had nothing to do with the place,” Mr Han says.
He confirms police did find three animal carcasses but they were not in the van as initially reported by the media. “All they found in the van was some blood, which my driver explained was left there when he bought large quantities of pork for the Ħal Far kitchen two days before,” Mr Han says.
The carcasses were found in a freezer at Ħal Far, he added, after police searched the premises on Friday night. A second search on Saturday morning proved negative. “The headless carcasses were of rabbits, which the driver bought a week earlier from Vittoriosa,” Mr Han insists.
Police sources confirmed there was no direct link yet with the disappearing cats’ story and forensic tests still had to be carried out to determine the nature of the carcasses.
“I understand the police have to do their work and we cooperated with them but I feel sad because my driver was accused of killing cats when he has been taking good care of Omeng,” Mr Han says.
The driver told police he never bought live rabbits and he normally bought them with severed heads because these would be used separately in a stew.
The driver also told police it was “impossible” for him to kill cats. At least one cat, the one that got him into trouble, can attest to this.