Alarming Cat Abuse Cases: A Global Crisis In Feline Welfare
Recent reports of cat abuse have shed light on a distressing rend in Singapore and South Korea, where innocent felines have become the victims of cruelty and neglect. These incidents have sparked outrage among animal welfare advocates and raised concerns about the need for stricter laws and increased public awareness. Unfortunately, the same rings true in Hong Kong, further highlighting the urgent need for collective action to protect these vulnerable animals.
South Korea
A South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country’s most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.
The man, who is in his 20s, was convicted of violating South Korea’s animal protection law last week, the Changwon District Court in southeastern South Korea said Tuesday. The court did not identify the man.
The man went on a cat-killing spree between December 2022 and September 2023 due to a deep hatred of the animal that he began harbouring after other cats scratched his car, according to a court verdict seen by Associated Press. He had caught stray cats and adopted others from online sites before strangling some to death and killing others with scissors, the court order said. He killed one cat by running it over with a car, the court said.
The court ruled that the prison sentence was unavoidable because he repeatedly committed “indescribably cruel” crimes in a premeditated manner.
It stressed that the sentence still reflected the fact that the man had no criminal records and repented his crimes, adding that the man’s unspecified mental health status was found to be a motive for his crimes.
The man appealed the ruling.
Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International said: -
“The sentence reflects Korean society’s increasing concern for animal welfare and intolerance for senseless cruelty such as this. This cruelty case also emphasises the importance of passing the Civil Act amendment that will legally recognise animals as living beings and further strengthen their protection in law.”
Singapore
A 31-year-old man was sentenced to 20 days in jail for neglecting 43 cats in a vacant flat, marking Singapore’s largest animal cruelty prosecution to date.
Muhammad Danial Sukirman pleaded guilty to causing “unnecessary pain and suffering” to animals by failing to provide food, water and attention between August and November 2021. He admitted to infrequently feeding the cats and neglecting their welfare, according to court documents first reported by Today Online. He also admitted that the environment in which the cats were left was filthy, posing health risks to both the cats and nearby residents in an apartment in Ang Mo Kio in Singapore.
Prosecutors noted that “it is a case that has set its own precedent” and argued that a fine would be “far too lenient” for Mr Sukirman. They sought a jail term given his “deliberate” conduct knowing that the cats were breeding uncontrollably and yet he kept the living conditions poor.
According to the court documents, Mr Sukirman regretted his actions but judge Lorraine Ho agreed with prosecutors to send him to jail, stating that his actions posed health hazards to the neighbourhood.
The case first came to light when authorities responded to public feedback about a foul smell emanating from Mr Sukirman’s flat. They found more than 30 cats and skeletal remains inside the apartment.
Mr Sukirman admitted to owning the cats and surrendered them to the authorities. He claimed that the cat population had grown out of control after the death of his mother-in-law, leading to neglectful conditions.
During inspections by the authorities, it was found that the cats lacked access to clean water and were fed infrequently, leading to fights over food.
Several cats showed signs of injury, infestation, and disease, the court documents revealed.
In July 2021, Mr Sukirman secured a new flat in a new neighbourhood and had six months to leave his old one where the cats were. The family moved to the new flat in Yishun in August, but Mr Sukirman reportedly didn’t arrange to rehome the cats, leaving them behind in the vacant apartment.
The prosecutors said: -
“He also did not visit the said flat regularly nor to provide the cats with food and water on a daily basis due to his long working hours and poor management of finances, [being] in heavy debt.”
In Singapore, each charge of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to a pet carries a maximum penalty of 18 months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to £8,818, or both.
Hong Kong
Five kittens were found disposed of in a tied plastic bag along with kitchen waste inside a trash bin. The distressing meows caught the attention of a worker who promptly rescued these 10-day-old kittens.
They are now under the care of Paws Guardian Animal Shelter and receiving the necessary treatment.
Main Source: The Independent & SCMP & Channel C HK