A dog trainer in Southern California has been convicted of multiple counts of felony animal cruelty. The trainer, Kwong Chun Sit, was found to have left dogs in small crates in the back of a hot van, where they died of heatstroke. Sit’s girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu, was also convicted of several charges related to her help in carrying out the cremations.

Investigation

The investigation began when a dog owner, Alexander Kostyukevich, reported that his dog, Miko, had died while in Sit’s care. Kostyukevich had found Sit’s training business, Happy K9 Academy, on Instagram and had left Miko with him for training. However, just days later, Kostyukevich received a text message from Sit stating that Miko had passed away peacefully during the night.

When Kostyukevich called Sit to get more information, Sit hung up on him. Kostyukevich then contacted the Irvine police, who began an investigation. The police found that Sit had dropped off multiple dogs at crematories and pet disposal services, and that the dogs had died of heatstroke and other causes.

Convictions

Sit was convicted of 11 felony counts of animal cruelty, as well as several misdemeanor counts of attempting to destroy evidence and destroying evidence. Liu was convicted of one felony count of accessory to a felony, as well as several misdemeanor counts of destruction of evidence and attempted destruction of evidence.

The couple is set to face punishment for the horrific deaths during sentencing on July 10. Sit could be sentenced to almost 14 years in prison, while Liu could be sentenced to four years.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.