- Singapore -
UPDATE: July 17, 2021
On Thursday, July 15, District Judge May Mesenas sentenced 37-year-old LEOW WEI LIANG to 12 weeks behind bars.
LIANG pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty, with another four charges taken into consideration during sentencing.
According to court documents, LIANG said he cut cats as he felt ‘allergic to cat fur and wanted to have fun since the cats were stray animals and not human.”
The furbabies suffered wounds from cuts on their abdomens, sides, and backs.
As reported by CNA, LIANG slashed:
A white cat with gray patches named Miki.
A black cat named Kopi.
A gray cat called Milo.
A black cat named Boyboy.
A grey and white cat named Dino.
A tortoiseshell cat named Daughter.
A calico cat named Mummy.
After being examined many times at IMH (Institute of Mental Health), LIANG was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and an underlying antisocial personality.
IMH found that LIANG’s acts stemmed from a simple desire to “wantonly inflict pain and suffering on animals for his own perverse entertainment,” and that’s what National Parks Board prosecutor Packer Mohammad reported in court.
Today Online reports that IMH psychiatrist Steven Phang found LIANG’s offences to be primarily driven by an antisocial personality, and not by his autism spectrum disorder.
Phang also said LIANG was not of an unsound mind at the time of the offences.
Although the prosecutor urged the court to impose a jail term of 12 to 16 weeks, LIANG’s defense lawyer Diana Ngiam sought a four-week jail term instead, stating that some weight had to be given to his mental health history.
Judge Mesenas said that while she recognized that that the mental condition played a role, she had to take into account the number of cats that LIANG had harmed, as well as the fact that he had gone around looking for cats to harm.
She added that there is a need for deterrence in this case and balance needs to be struck.
For each charge of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal, LIANG could have been jailed for up to one-and-a-half years or fined up to S$15,000, or both.
A petition had been created demanding a strong a proportionate sentence to be handed down.
Part of it reads: “We urge the Courts to be as stringent and rigorous as it would have been had the victims been human.”
I am allergic to animal abusers. May I slash them?
~ Original story:
On May 20, the SPCA Singapore reached out to the public through a Facebook post to request assistance in reference to a disturbing spate of cases in which many cats were found with slash wounds on their bodies.
The incidents happened in Ang Mo Kio.
Ang Mo Kio, often abbreviated as AMK, is a planning area and residential town in the North-East of Singapore.
The first injured cat was found at the end of April 2021, and according to the SPCA, weeks later nine more cats were found with similar wounds.
The Straits Times reports that as a result of these incidents, some of the cats in the AMK neighborhood were placed in two different boarding facilities.
Volunteers say that three cats who were spotted with slash wounds are missing and they think they might be hiding in fear.
They took turns to patrol the area and worked closely with the authorities to find the subhuman responsible for these SENSELESS attacks.
The SPCA Singapore appealed to witnesses to come forward with information leading to the identification of the evil sick monster.
According to Today Online, both the SPCA and the Cat Welfare Society led efforts to track down the culprit by distributing flyers and putting up posters in the neighborhood.
On Wednesday, June 9, 37-year-old LEOW WEI LIANG was arrested as part of an operation conducted by the National Parks Council’s Animal and Veterinary Service with police support.
LIANG was charged with one count of animal cruelty.
LIANG is accused of slashing a cat with a penknife on the morning of May 2, at the carpark staircase of Block 352A Ang Mo Kio Street 32.
Prosecutors believe that LIANG is not responsible for the injuries of just one cat, but that he is behind the series of cat slashings in AMK.
LIANG appeared in court via video before District Judge Marvin Bay while he was in police custody.
Reportedly, LIANG refused to stand up and to appear on camera.
Officers told the judge he was refusing to follow their instructions.
LIANG kept saying in Mandarin that he did not want to go to jail and wanted to be released.
NParks prosecutor Packer Mohammad asked for LIANG to be held at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment for two weeks and Judge Bay agreed to that observing that there was “ample reason” given the circumstances.
LIANG is expected to be back in court on June 23 for further mention of his case.
If convicted, he may be jailed for up to 18 months, or fined up to $15,000, or both.
Repeat offenders may be jailed for up to three years, or fined up to $30,000, or both.
Calista is a girl with a big heart who takes care of community cats.
In an extremely emotional video, she recounts how she found some of the furbabies with slash wounds and how they are doing now.
Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official news outlets. Links included.
Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.