Man who flung cat from 13th floor given 18 months’ probation
Lee Wai Leong (wearing face mask), who pleaded guilty to throwing a cat from a HDB block, arriving at the State Courts on Tuesday (June 7). Photo: Robin Choo/TODAY
SINGAPORE — The man who hurled a cat from the 13th floor of a block in Yishun was sentenced to 18 months’ probation on Tuesday (June 7).
Last month, Lee Wai Leong, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of throwing an adult male Mackerel Tabby, a breed of domestic shorthair cat, over the parapet of the public housing block where he lives, causing it “unnecessary suffering” and death.
The offence took place at 115B Yishun Ring Road at 10.30am on Oct 30 last year. He was the first person to be charged under the amended Animals and Birds Act.
Amendments to the Act were passed in Parliament in 2014, which included stiffer penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty.
During sentencing, District Judge Mathew Joseph noted that Lee faced only one charge under the Act, so the “wrong impression” that he was linked to several other cat deaths reported since last year should not be made.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao also said in court that the evidence did not link Lee to the other cases of cat deaths. Even then, the judge reiterated that animal violence cannot be condoned.
“It is cruel and it is a cowardly act against a defenceless creature,” he said. “A single act of violence against an animal is one case too many.”
Lee did not present “deep-seated delinquent traits”, District Judge Joseph said, adding that this case was the offender’s first brush with the law.
He cited concerns that Lee would re-offend, with the probation report noting that he had committed the offence due to a lack of moral intelligence and social judgment.
In response, Lee’s defence lawyer Josephus Tan, who was assigned by the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said Lee’s family would monitor his behaviour.
The court had heard that Lee committed the offence because he found that the cat “had been very noisy” and entered his house on one occasion.
After throwing the cat over the parapet, Lee took the lift down to “see whether (it) managed to survive the fall”. The cat was certified to have died from significant trauma, suffering haemorrhage and fractures, the court was told.
The Institute of Mental Health said that Lee has moderate intellectual disability and was found to be “quite obviously simple-minded”. Both the district judge and prosecution had agreed earlier that Lee did not act out of “perverse cruelty”.
The incident was one in a series of cat deaths in Yishun since last September. At least 35 cats, mostly strays, have been found abused or dead in the estate.
Speaking separately to the media, Mr Tan said his client is not mentally ill such that he could seek treatment, but that he is intellectually disabled. This is also why Lee has to attend classes under the probation order to improve his ability to differentiate right from wrong, among other things.
