A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail in Singapore last Thursday (15 July 2021) after he was caught abusing and slashing seven cats in the country’s residential town of Ang Mo Kio. After a series of cats have been found injured there between 25 April to 23 May this year, the man was caught after Singapore’s National Parks Board case investigator identified him as the perpetrator.
As reported by Channel News Asia, the man, Leow Wei Liang suffers from autism spectrum disorder and an underlying antisocial personality. Furthermore, he felt allergic to cats’ fur and thought that it was okay to harm them because they are animals.
While Leow suffers from mental disorder, an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) assessment on him found that his offences were borne out of a simple desire to inflict pain and suffering on animals ‘for his own perverse entertainment’.
The case prosecutor clarified,
“The IMH assessment was that (his) acts of cruelty were not borne out of any difficulty in comprehending the consequences of his actions, but rather a simple desire to wantonly inflict pain and suffering on animals for his own perverse entertainment,”
Furthermore, an IMH psychiatrist also found that Leow’s offence was primarily driven by his antisocial personality and not his autism spectrum disorder. He was found fit to plead and was not of unsound mind.
During the trial, Leow pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty. Another four charges of the same offence were also taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that several community cats were found injured by Leow over a period of one month in Ang Mo Kio. These include:
- A white community cat with grey patches named Miki.
- A black community cat named Kopi.
- A grey community cat named Milo.
- A tortoiseshell cat named Daughter.
- A calico cat named Mummy.
- A grey and white cat named Dino.
- A black cat named Boyboy.
All of the cats above suffered wounds ranging from cuts on their abdomens and flanks to a ‘hug degloving wound’ along their backs.
In court, Leow admitted to injuring the seven cats using a penknife he bought in April. According to court documents, he also confessed to having thought about cutting cats this year as he felt ‘allergic to cat fur and wanted to have fun since the cats were stray animals and not human’.
During sentencing, Leow’s jail term has been backdated to 9 June 2021 when he was first remanded. He could’ve faced more severe punishment as animal cruelty in Singapore is punishable with up to 18 months imprisonment, RM46,000 fine or both.
Also read: 58yo M’sian Fined RM34k In SG After Getting Caught Throwing His Pet Dog Into Drainage Canal
