All was not well in Lo Yen City

Four employees and the owner of a Chinese restaurant in Tijuana were arrested on April 7 after food inspectors discovered the eatery was butchering and cooking dog meat.

Authorities launched an investigation of the Lo Yen City restaurant on Boulevard Fundadores in the El Rubi neighborhood, following non-specific complaints from consumers, the daily newspaper El Sol de Tijuana reported in a story published on April 8.

The inspectors, said the newspaper, discovered “butchered dogs in the kitchen ready to be placed on the table.”

When investigators first arrived at Lo Yen City, they noticed a kitchen worker throwing something into a garbage can, according to the newspaper. The inspectors decided to investigate and, upon looking into the trashcan, discovered a decapitated and skinned dog with its front legs cut off, according to the newspaper report.

The restaurant owner, identified only as Mr. Yu, told reporters that the dog found in his kitchen “was for his personal consumption.”

Health inspectors asked for help from Tijuana’s dog pound, which sent workers to the restaurant to pick up other dogs on site, El Sol reported.

Investigators also noted that the restaurant had no business license and was allegedly selling alcohol without a permit.

City code enforcement officers closed the restaurant and turned over the four people arrested to state prosecutors.

Fox News Latino gave the following account in an April 8 report:

“The Lo Yen City Chinese restaurant in Tijuana, a border city in northwestern Mexico, was closed for using dog meat in its dishes and not having a business license….

“Eyewitnesses said a person called the emergency services number after hearing a dog yowl, looking through a gate and seeing cooks at the restaurant in the El Rubi district butchering the animal.”