SINGAPORE — A community cat, “Panther” tragically died from injuries after being thrown down from the top floor of block 186 at Boon Lay Avenue on Wednesday afternoon by a ten-year-old boy.
A deleted viral CCTV footage of the incident showed the boy taking a lift with the cat to the 22nd floor and throwing the cat off the floor after checking no one was around.
Based on the CCTV footage, this took place at around 1.35 pm on 14 December.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, a 47-year-old resident and cat caretaker, Chua said the community cat is at least 15 years old. It was already dead when it was found.
Chua said, “I am very sad, over the past two years, there have been at least five cases of cats falling down from the floors, but it is unable to determine if the previous cases were accidental or having been thrown down by someone.”
Chua confronted the boy the following day, asking if he had thrown the cat down the floor. She claimed that the boy had initially denied the act. It was when she showed him the CCTV footage that the boy confessed, saying, “it is because I cannot receive the love of my family, that is why I did such a thing.”
A netizen had claimed on the evening of Thursday that the boy was in police custody after a member of the public caught him trying to throw a second cat down.
Lianhe Zaobao’s reporter located the boy’s home near block 186. When his father answered the door, he said he did not wish to comment as the authorities were investigating the incident.
A similarly aged boy told the reporter that he would play hide-and-seek with the boy along with other children. He said that the boy is relatively quiet and often wears a smile.
A spokesperson from the police confirmed that a police report has been filed, and the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) is also conducting its investigation.
The Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals noted in a Facebook post that it had been alerted to the case and has since escalated it to the authorities.
It said it is deeply disturbed by the actions captured in the footage.
“Animal abuse and cruelty have no place in our society. We stand strongly against animal cruelty and are working closely with the authorities on the case for the next course of action.”
The Cat Welfare Society (CWS) said in a Facebook post that it has assisted the caregivers in filing an AVS report on Thursday afternoon and linked the caregivers to the investigating officers.
It also shared that it is extremely upset about this incident.
“One case of abuse is one case too many, what more when a minor is involved. We want the investigations to be carried out efficiently and without issues including any attempted witch-hunt of the individual and/or his family.”
“For this reason, we echo AVS’ request to everyone to not circulate or publish screenshots / videos / location of the incident.” wrote CWS and added that it will continue to engage the authorities on possible approaches to take.
Commenters on the Facebook post, however, did not agree with AVS’ request to not circulate the footage.
One wrote, “If the authorities did their jobs effectively, we wouldn’t resort to witch hunting! The anger in my heart is overwhelming and I’m extremely affected. There needs to be accountability otherwise who knows what the rest of us will do!!”
While another wrote, “Without public pressure, such matters will always be silent!”
Minister of National Development, Desmond Lee also made a Facebook post about this incident, stating:
“We do not condone mistreatment of animals and will not hesitate to take action against offenders. Offenders caught harming or abusing an animal may be charged under the Animals and Birds Act, and could be fined up to $15,000, jailed up to 18 months, or both.”
SPCA also told Lianhe Zaobao that it has paid a visit to the boy’s home and will work with relevant authorities to provide counselling to the boy.
It said that this incident proves the need to raise awareness of caring for animals.
Change Petition receives over 38,000 signatures
A petition has been initiated on Change.org to urge the AVS and Singapore Police Force (SPF), to fully investigate and bring the perpetrator to justice.
Over 38,000 signatures have been received as of 8 pm on Saturday.
The petition notes, “We understand that the perpetrator is a juvenile and the Animal and Birds Act 1965 may not apply but we urge the relevant Authorities to enforce this law and hope that this act of cruelty will be punished with an equivalent standard.”
One signatory, Natasha, wrote, “We need tighter laws on animal cruelty no matter if the perpetrators are children or adults. From his furtive behaviour, this kid obviously is VERY much aware of his actions. No, I don’t care if he is a child. He is obviously old enough to know better. There are consequences to your actions, and he needs to know this.”
Another signatory wrote, “10-year-old children know what moral is, what’s right and wrong, what to do and what not to do, etc. The lack of care and love from family does not mean one should do harm to other living beings to get the attention required.”
