Woman jailed after beating stepchild’s pet parrot to death

SINGAPORE — She took her stepdaughter's pet bird out of the cage, determined to end its life, and now, Tran Thi Thuy Hang will have to spend four weeks behind bars.

In anger, she had whacked the bird to death with a bamboo laundry pole.

For her act of animal cruelty, the 39-year-old was given her sentence on Wednesday (Aug 1), the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a media release.

On the evening of Oct 27 last year, the parrot — a Sun Conure named Lucky — was perched on the shoulder of its owner Yu Mei Ling, then 26. When Tran came home from work and walked past them, the bird flew over and bit her on the right cheek, close to the eye.

In pain, the Singapore permanent resident from Vietnam immediately complained to her 60-year-old husband Yu Ching Meng and threatened to kill Lucky if it was not removed from their Sengkang home.

The next day, at around 8am, Tran made good on the threat when she was alone at home.

Noticing that Lucky was still in its cage, she got hold of a bamboo pole, took the parrot out and bashed it several times until it died.

Tran told her husband what she did when he came home from breakfast about an hour later.

She then threw the lifeless pet and its cage into a central rubbish chute located outside their flat.

About a week later, Tran's stepdaughter reported the incident to the AVA.

The authority said that members of the public should promptly report cases of animal cruelty via its website (www.ava.gov.sg/feedback).

Anyone found guilty of committing an act of animal cruelty can be fined up to S$15,000 and/or 18 months' jail for a first conviction.