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Cat killings in Yishun prompt appeal for sharing of footage

SINGAPORE — With no leads surfacing after scanning through months of TV surveillance footage, investigators are turning to new measures, such as putting up more high-definition cameras and getting residents to review their in-vehicle camera footage — to put an end to a brutal killing spree that has claimed the lives of 16 cats in Yishun.

Over the past three months, there have been 17 cases of cat abuse in Yishun. Photo: Ernest Chua

Over the past three months, there have been 17 cases of cat abuse in Yishun. Photo: Ernest Chua

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SINGAPORE — With no leads surfacing after scanning through months of TV surveillance footage, investigators are turning to new measures such as putting up more high-definition cameras and getting residents to review their in-vehicle camera footages — to put an end to a brutal killing spree that has claimed the lives of 16 cats in Yishun.

Since Sept 24 this year, there have been 17 reported cases of cat abuse there. Only one — the first victim — survived an attack after it was found in Northland Primary School at Yishun Avenue 4.

Many of the cats suffered horrific injuries: Strangulation, poisoning, and head and back trauma. One carcass had its eyeball gorged and tongue slit, while another had a severed limb.

The latest victim was found bleeding extensively in a multi-storey carpark at block 115B Yishun Ring Road last Saturday (Dec 12). Post-mortem results are pending.

Graphic: Adolfo Arranz

In the ongoing efforts to tackle these cases, Member of Parliament (Nee Soon GRC) Louis Ng appealed to members of the public to share footage recorded in their in-vehicle cameras with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) investigators.

“In Nee Soon, we don’t have that many multi-storey carparks, but we have many open-air carparks, and a lot of the cars are (facing) void decks. These cars might have in-vehicle cameras left on at night. They might have captured something,” Mr Ng said.

To facilitate this public appeal, a list of the times and places of the cat abuse cases will be put up on notice boards.

Mr Ng also announced a new grassroots fast-response team comprising volunteers, cat feeders and concerned residents. The idea was mooted during a meeting last Saturday with 22 volunteers, some of whom have been patrolling the crime scenes regularly and conducting their own investigations.

Mr Ng suggested that they could complement the authorities’ efforts: “We want to make sure we use our resources more effectively.”

Likening the team to first responders, Mr Ng said that they could interview residents from door to door, upon discovering the cat abuse case. “It’s useful to have residents going to residents. They’re more open to each other,” he added, urging more volunteers to join the team.

Several suspects have been rounded up for investigations, but the evidence on hand remains “inconclusive”, Mr Ng noted.

Madam Janet Sum, 53, founder of Yishun 326 Tabby Cat, an animal rescue group, said that the culprits appeared to be getting bolder, because of the cruelty of the acts. In a recent case on Nov 28, a cat was found strangled and dumped in a rubbish chute with a rope still attached to it.

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