Woman, 2 men charged with abandoning 13 cats in public in separate cases

SINGAPORE — Three people aged between 26 and 68 were charged on Wednesday (July 27) with abandoning cats in public places over the past couple of years.

The oldest of the Singaporean trio, Song Leng Heong, faces three counts under the Animals and Birds Act for leaving three kittens at the bicycle bay of Block 626, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 on May 25, 2020.

Through an interpreter, she told the court in Mandarin that a stray cat had gone to her home to give birth to the kittens.

“My neighbour asked me to keep them in the house. Out of goodwill, I did that."

She added that she had phoned the authorities but "they said they had many cats and offered to give me a cage to keep them".

Song further claimed that she did not abandon the felines and had taken them to the bicycle bay in hopes that someone would adopt them.

However, this was during the semi-lockdown period here for the Covid-19 outbreak. Song said that because of this, no one was willing to take in the kittens.

Song added: “If I had really wanted to abandon them, I would have… placed them at a place further away from my home.” 

Ms Wendy Tan, a prosecutor from the National Parks Board (NParks), told the court that Song had informed the authorities during investigations about being the kittens’ main caregiver for six months.

Song had also told NParks that she abandoned the kittens because she could not take care of them any longer and they were “making a lot of noise in the middle of the night”, Ms Tan said.

Song then said that a child had wanted to adopt the cats, but the child’s mother wanted to check with her husband first. Song did not elaborate on the outcome.

District Judge Lorraine Ho asked her if she wanted to plead guilty or not, given that the prosecution was seeking a fine of S$2,000.

After some time, Song indicated that she wanted to admit to her charges. She will return to court on Sept 1.

OTHER CASES

Muhammad Al-Imran M Roslan, 37, faces eight charges.

He is accused of permanently abandoning eight domestic short-hair cats on Jan 23 this year at the bin centre of Block 462, Chua Chu Kang Avenue 4.

The third individual, Muhammad Khairudie Balkiah, 26, is accused of abandoning a female domestic short-hair named Comot and another male domestic short-hair named Pak Teh on Dec 13 last year.

He allegedly left the animals in a cage near a staircase beside a rubbish chute on the ground floor of Block 326B Sumang Walk, located in the Punggol area.

The two men said that they wish to plead guilty. They will return to court on Aug 31 to do so.

If convicted of intentionally abandoning an animal, the three accused persons could be jailed for up to 12 months or fined up to S$10,000, or both, for each offence.

They may also be disqualified from owning a pet for a maximum of 12 months.

In March, Parliament heard that the number of pet abandonment cases, half of which involved cats, had generally been on an upward trend over the past five years. NParks investigated 225 such alleged cases last year.

Mr Tan Kiat How, Minister of State for National Development, said that the Government will continue to review the penalties under the Animals and Birds Act to ensure that they “remain effective in deterring acts of pet abandonment”.