Kitten Struck with Broomstick Behind Restaurant, Police Say

A kitten was attacked and struck with a broomstick by an employee of a Newtown Square restaurant recently, according to Newtown Township Police.

The kitten survived the attack. 

Hyungsuk Son, 25, of Glen Mills was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct, according to police. 

A woman contacted Newtown Township Police at about 11 a.m. on Sept. 25, saying she witnessed an employee of Yuki Sushi Restaurant, at 212 South Newtown Street Road, strike a kitten with a red, handled broomstick, according to police. 

The witness told police that she as on her break in the rear of the strip of stores and saw two Asian men in the rear of Yuki Sushi.

The woman told police she witnessed one of the men striking a kitten with a broomstick until the kitten went "limp," according to police. 

After the kitten was limp, the woman told police, the man picked up the kitten and she then lost sight of it, according to police. 

Police went to Yuki Sushi to locate the man who struck the kitten and after speaking with several employees, they spoke to Son, who told police he was the one who struck the kitten and then returned it to a box under the stairway, according to police.

Son showed police the kitten he struck with the broomstick, which was laying in a plastic tub along with a second kitten, according to police.

The kitten, which weighed about 2lbs, was very lethargic, showing signs of distress and was not moving like the other kitten, according to police.

Both kittens were taken to a nearby veterinarian for examination. The abused kitten sustained injuries to its back but survived the attack, Newtown Police Chief Chris Lunn said. The second kitten was not injured. 

Both kittens were adopted by an employee at the veterinarian office, Lunn said. 

Son was charged with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals and a summary charge of disorderly conduct, according to police. He is scheduled to appear before Judge Leon Hunter in a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. on Oct. 3.