A man in China suspected of abusing cats was himself tortured by a group of cat lovers after videos of his supposed abuse spread online.

The local authorities from the Wuzhong district in Suzhou said they take this case seriously and have launched an investigation into the matter.

Videos of the man being assaulted have also been circulating online, with several local media outlets reporting on the incident. 

According to Global Times and Southern Metropolis Daily, the man, surnamed Lee, tortured the cats he adopted. 

Lee, an office worker in eastern Suzhou, is alleged to have filmed himself abusing the cats, before uploading the videos online. 

Some of the cats reportedly died because of his actions. 

Lee was identified by an individual overseas, who had seen a video of him abusing cats, and alerted a dozen or so cat lovers around the country, saying that Lee was planning to adopt a kitten at a commercial plaza. 

Six individuals then surrounded Lee at the plaza on Feb 25, and hurled insults at him.

He was then taken to a separate location, where he was kicked, made to slap himself, kneel on the floor and confess to his actions.

The group reportedly also smeared faeces on Lee’s face, and forced him to ingest the faeces. 

In one video, Lee can be heard confessing to killing five cats, while being held by two individuals, with another cursing him and filming the scene. 

Lee was reportedly left bruised and bleeding after the assault, which lasted through the night.

Although there have been speculations that Lee’s attackers are part of the Suzhou Small Animal Protection Volunteers Association, the organisation said on its Weibo account that it would not have done something so extreme. THE NEW PAPER