Cat killer sentenced to probation in Singapore

SINGAPORE, June 7 — The man who hurled a cat from the 13^th floor of a block in Yishun was today sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

Lee Wai Leong, 41, was the first person to be sentenced under the amended Animals and Birds Act.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to one count of throwing an adult male mackerel tabby over the parapet of the Housing and Development Board block where he lives, causing it “unnecessary suffering” and death.

Amendments to the Act were passed in Parliament in 2014, which included stiffer penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty.

During sentencing, District judge Mathew Joseph noted that Lee faced only one charge under the Act and the “wrong impression” that he was linked to several other cat deaths reported since last year should not be made.

Nevertheless, the judge reiterated that animal violence cannot be condoned.

“It is cruel and it is a cowardly act against a defenceless creature,” he said.

He added: “A single act of violence against an animal is one case too many.”

Lee however, did not present “deep-seated delinquent traits”, said Joseph who added that this case was the offender’s first brush with the law.

But Joseph cited concerns that Lee would reoffend given the probation report noted that he had committed the offence due to lack of moral intelligence and social judgement. In response, Lee’s defence lawyer Josephus Tan said Lee’s family will monitor his behaviour.

The court had heard that in Oct last year, Lee committed the offence because he found that the cat “had been very noisy” and entered his house on one occasion. After throwing the cat over the parapet, Lee took the lift down to “see whether (it) managed to survive the fall”.

The cat was certified to have died from a “significant external traumatic incident” with significant haemorrhage and fractures, the court was told.

Lee suffers from moderate intellectual disability and was found to be “quite obviously simple-minded”, according to the Institute of Mental Health.

Both the judge and prosecution had agreed earlier that Lee did not act out of “perverse cruelty”. Instead, the prosecution said Lee committed the offence out of his “simple-mindedness” and suggested that the court consider sentencing options other than imprisonment.

The incident was one of several cat deaths in Yishun since September last year where at least 35 cats, mostly strays, have been found abused or dead in the estate. — TODAY

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