A shriek in the dead of night had cleaner Ng Siew Lan scrambling out of her third-floor Tampines flat.
The 57-year-old saw a man slamming a grey cat on the ground twice and kicking it, before setting it alight. The animal died.
On Tuesday, a 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly abusing a cat at Block 884, Tampines Street 83. Animal protection group Cat Welfare Society said the suspect has since posted bail.
According to Madam Jaslynn Ong, 37 – who was with her mother, Madam Ng, when the incident occurred – the cat is one of several felines in the neighbourhood to have been abused.
Two of the three community cats are dead, she said. The third underwent surgery just three days ago for a dislocated left leg. “It’s been left crippled. I am now compiling all the details so I can report this to the authorities.”
Stomp, Facebook screengrabs, Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, The New Paper, Facebook / Yishun 326 Tabby Cat, Tra Cy’s Facebook
Cat Welfare Society chief executive Pauline Leow said: “Unfortunately, many people think it’s good enough to leave a Facebook post to raise awareness… But without proper reporting to the authorities, it’s hard to ascertain if they are truly all abuse cases.”
She cited another case on Tuesday when a cat was found with blood oozing from its mouth in a pool of urine at Block 765, Bedok Reservoir View. The person who found the cat did not report it to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the police. Nobody has been apprehended.
From January to April this year, 53 cases of alleged cruelty to cats were reported to the AVA.
The Cat Welfare Society said its volunteer in Tampines is meeting cat feeders in the area to discuss how to keep other cats safe. Door- to-door surveys have also been done to appeal for information and witnesses.
This article was first published on June 3, 2016.
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