Who knew a massage chair could turn into a killing machine!
A family recently purchased a massage chair thinking that they could use it to relax. Sadly, one of their pet cats went under the chair through an opening and was crushed to death by the mechanism. This incident happened in Hong Kong.
According to Seehua, the wife named Wong is a music teacher while her husband is a doctor. Both of them are cat lovers and they had five cats staying in their home. Last month (July), the couple had purchased a massage chair worth RM13,100 and it was delivered to their house on 8 August. Everything was fine for the first three days.
Source: Seehua
On 11 August, Wong had to head out to run some errands and she had asked her younger brother and her father to come over to look after the cats. The younger brother then had a go with the massage chair and soon, he heard the sound of a cat whining and other weird sounds coming from the chair.
Moments later, he heard the sound again but this time, the cat whining sounded much weaker. He knew something was wrong and told his father about it.
Wong’s father partially lifted the chair to look underneath, only to find that one of the cats had been bent into an ‘S’ shape, and it was suffocating. He then immediately switched off the massage chair and retrieved the cat. Omg 🙁
Source: Seehua
Unfortunately, it was already too late – the cat had stopped breathing. It was reported that the deceased cat was named Oyster, a Britsh Shorthair that the couple had been rearing for nine years since it was still a kitten.
Wong rushed home after receiving a call from her father only to find Oyster’s cold body lying motionless on the floor. She broke down upon seeing that.
“I thought of relaxing myself (with the massage chair), but now I will regret for the rest of my life,” she said.
Wong’s father conducted a check and realised that the chair would automatically go into the incline position once in operation and the moving parts at the bottom would be exposed through an opening measuring at 12.7 cm. This could be extremely dangerous to pets or babies who already know how to crawl.
Source: Seehua
Source: Seehua
The heartbroken Wong has since stopped using the chair after the incident and also lodged a complaint to the manufacturer. She hopes to return the item and plans to donate the refund to an animal welfare society.
It was understood that the manufacturer had already mentioned in the user’s manual that consumers should make sure there is no human or pet near the surroundings when the massage chair is in use.
If you guys own a massage chair, please check your surroundings before turning it on. RIP Oyster. 🙁
Also read: Stray Dogs in Shah Alam Are Being Poisoned to Death and Their Limbs Chopped Off
