Man charged with Yishun cat killing threw cat from 13th storey
Man charged with Yishun cat killing
A 40-year-old man was charged yesterday with killing a cat by throwing it down from a Yishun HDB block.
Lee Wai Leong faces one charge under the Animals and Birds Act of causing unnecessary suffering to the adult male Mackerel Tabby domestic shorthair cat on Oct 30.
Lee had allegedly thrown the cat to its death from the 13th storey of Block 115B, Yishun Ring Road.
Yesterday, the small-build Lee turned up in the State Courts dressed in a red shirt and sporting a buzz cut.
He appeared calm as the charge was read out to him.
Lee is the first person to be charged under the Act, which was amended last November to toughen penalties against those convicted of animal cruelty.
No plea was taken from Lee, who was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for further assessment. He is expected back in court on Jan 12.
Over the last three months, 17 cats were found dead and two seriously injured in Yishun.
Most of them were strays.
On Saturday, the carcass of a grey-white cat was found floating in an Yishun pond next to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Other cats were found with severe trauma to the head and back, injuries to the intestinal organs, gouged eyes and chopped-off limbs.
One was strangled.
It remains unclear whether Lee was involved in all the abuse cases.
Mr Louis Ng, MP for Nee Soon GRC and executive director of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said on Dec 15 that a grassroots fast response team was set up to gather evidence and conduct patrols, with additional high-resolution cameras installed in the area.
FOLLOW UP
On Monday, the police and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a joint statement that the AVA had conducted extensive ground inquires and follow-up investigations after receiving reports of cats found injured or dead in Yishun.
With help from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division officers, the authorities identified Lee and arrested him at Yishun Ring Road on Sunday, said the statement.
The AVA also said the investigations into the other cat abuse cases in Yishun are still ongoing.
Members of the public with any information on animal cruelty cases can contact the AVA at 1800-476-1600. If found guilty under the Animals and Birds Act, Lee can be jailed up to 18 months, fined up to $15,000, or both.
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