Bukit Batok Residents Spooked By Dead And Dying Birds At HDB Void Deck

What would you be thinking if you came home one day and you found a group of birds dying at the void deck?

Desperate to move, they writhed on the ground and tried to gasp for one more breath.

If I came across that scene, I’d probably scream like a little girl and run away. I swear.

But not the residents of Bukit Batok West Ave 5 though.

Dead and Dying Birds Littering The Void Deck

On 19 July, the residents of block 390 at Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 got a rude shock.

They saw about 15 birds, including pigeons, gasping and dying on the ground. A group of 11 residents got together and gathered the birds together into one place.

The birds were initially scattered around at the void deck.

Some of the birds were still alive, and were trying to fly off but failed. The residents attempted to give them water.

But their efforts were in vain.

“The birds started dying one by one. Only a few left were moving.”

Another resident called the Choa Chu Kang Town Council and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for help.

At around 6 pm, at least 8 police officers were present at the scene and the birds were collected by AVA personnel at around 7 pm.

The Birds Could’ve Been Poisoned

57-year-old Madam Julie Harichand, a housewife, said that the birds could’ve been poisoned to death.

She was one of the eleven residents who helped move the birds to a single location.

When they were trying to give water to the birds which were still alive, they saw what looked like white rice in their beaks.

Which is pretty disturbing, when you imagined that your neighbours are possibly serial bird killers.

The AVA has not reported to the case yet at the time of writing.

What happens if you’re found guilty 

Just because it’s a stray, or in this case, a wild animal doesn’t mean you’d go scot-free if you did this.

If found guilty under of animal cruelty under the Animals and Birds Act, the culprit can be fined up to S$15,000 and/or jailed up to 18 months.

That’s for the first-time offenders.

If it’s a repeat offence, you can be subjected to a maximum penalty of $30,000 or up to 3 years jail, or both.

Animal abuse cases aren’t exactly new in Singapore

If you haven’t been following the internet, animal abuse cases aren’t exactly new in Singapore.

Yishun’s notorious for their stray cat killers, so much so that the Cat Welfare Society and other volunteers had to form a group and carry out regular patrols in the neighbourhood.

In fact, according to a report late last year by the AVA, feedback about alleged animal cruelty cases in Singapore is rising steadily.

Kind of like our water tariffs and GST.

Although they made it clear that most of these reports aren’t accurate.

Also, for prospective animal abusers, you might want to think twice because with more people paying attention to the welfare of animals, and the willingness to report increasing as the years past, enforcement is tightened against these abusers.

45-year-old Yeo Poh Kwee attached his poodle to his person and ran down twenty floors of an HDB block.

Via the stairs.

Then, he left the bleeding dog to die.

He was sentenced to the maximum jail term of 18 months for his crime.