10 Animal Abuse Cases in S’pore That Would Trigger Even Non-Animal Lovers

I don’t know about you guys, but I am an animal lover.

Especially dogs. They are my Achilles heel (10/10 would do anything for doggo).

Yep, that’s me whenever I go out with my mom. I seriously love doggos.

And horses.

And kitties.

You get the idea.

So nothing breaks my heart more than when I read about animal abuse cases.

Like…how can people be so cruel.

And so, to raise awareness about animal cruelty and to make sure that incidents like these don’t ever happen anymore, here are 10 animal abuse cases in Singapore that will tug at your heartstrings.

Warning: Not for the fainthearted. 

1. Doggos starved, abused and dragged to their deaths. 

This is what happened to the dogs of Yeo Poh Kwee, a 45-year old man. Named Yogi and Brownie, his dogs were cute little poodles.

Yeo couldn’t handle Yogi’s barking especially after complaints from his neighbours.

So one fine day, he leashed Yogi and dragged it down 20 flights of stairs.

And Yeo left the poor, defenceless bleeding Yogi there to die.

Oh, and he was starving and abusing Brownie too. He neglected it and did not bring it to the vet for treatment when it sustained some injuries.

FYI: Yogi and Brownie both died. And Yeo was charged with the maximum jail term for animal abuse – 20 months. I personally think it should be longer. 

2. Taping a stray cat with masking tape. 

Li Xiaojing, a 30-year old man, taped a stray cat with masking tape.

Yep, you heard me right. 

And for what? Because the cat urinated at his place of residence. And he wanted to tape it to remove it.

The cat had to be anaesthetised before they could remove the tape which was stuck to its fur and skin. Thankfully, the cat has been successfully re-homed.

Li was fined $6000.

3. Abandoning a pet cat. 

Noorfazanah Bte Abdul Salam, a 32-year old woman had a pet cat.

And when the cat got sick, she brought it to the vet. That’s where she realised she couldn’t afford the medical expenses.

Instead of bringing the cat to relevant organisations or to relevant authorities, she decided to abandon her poor cat instead.

Seriously, don’t commit to having a pet if you can’t afford to look after it when it is both healthy and sick. 

The cat was found and received the medical treatment it needed. And Noorfazanah was charged with a $3000 fine.

4. Physical abuse of two dogs

A 69-year old man was found guilty of abuse of his two dogs when his own son turned him in.

The man hit the dog with a dustpan and kicked it three times. A neighbour took a video of this and uploaded it on Stomp.

That’s when his 30-year old son called the police and turned his dad in.

The elderly man has hit his dogs with the bamboo laundry poles as well as canes.

The dogs only have one little corner in the house and are not allowed to move from it.

5. Beloved pet husky abused by a maid.

When the owners were out of town, their domestic helper was left in charge of looking after the house and the owners’ beloved pet dog.

It’s the cutest little Husky btw.

And it also had a dressing on its leg, which one can infer that it originally already wasn’t too well to begin with.

And this domestic helper was not just negligent but also physically abused the dog. She grabbed it, handled it roughly and even whacked its head with a metal bowl.

All throughout, this poor husky was making those whiny dog-crying sounds. It was such a heartbreaking incident.

The owners have decided to deal with this case privately. I really hope they dealt with it severely.

6. Gallop Stable’s cruelty against its horse.

Horses are such kind, magnificent creatures. They are another type of animal popularly used as therapy animals because well, they are very kind and empathetic creatures.

Which is why I got a big shock when I read about/saw the picture of what transpired in a local horse stable.

Gallop Stable was found guilty of animal cruelty against a 17-year old chestnut thoroughbred named Sharpy.

It was left with a massive right hind-leg wound that was inflamed, pus-filled and completely infected. And a swollen left hind-leg.

The infection covered almost the full lower-half leg area of the horse, btw. And the infection was bubbly in appearance and caused skin peeling.

It’s a condition called Cellulitis, which has a very high mortality rate in horses.

And expert witnesses at the trial said that Sharpy would have experienced symptoms such as lameness, pain and fever for several days before its wound developed necrosis, meaning the stable should have sought medical attention way earlier.

But they didn’t. They neglected Sharpy instead, and left the painful wound to fester.

They were charged with a penalty fine of $9000. Sharpy has since recovered after proper medical care (thank heavens).

7. Pet abandonment (again). Please don’t ever do this. 

Suriati Misran, a 53-year old lady was found guity of abandoning not one, not two, but five cats at a void deck in Riverdale Crescent.

She instructed her son to abandon them on her behalf, and the CCTVs in the lift caught the whole thing.

She was charged $2000 for pet abandonment – the maximum penalty is a fine of up to $10,000 and a jail term of up to 12 months.

So she got away with a pretty light penalty. I think it really should have been a lot worse. 

8. Man kills dog during a fight with his girlfriend. 

When Chong Choom Kiat, a 40-year old man was having a fight with his girlfriend, he took his anger out on his pet dog.

He suffocated it with a shirt and then a leash, before stabbing it to death.

Oh yes, and he disposed of the dog by throwing it down the common rubbish chute found in HDB homes.

His girlfriend immediately went to the police station to lodge a report against him.

Found to be mentally ill, he was sentenced to 12 months of mandatory treatment order and is banned for owning a pet for a year as well.

I still don’t understand why the penalties are not more severe. 

9. Man abuses his then-girlfriend brother’s toy poodle (it’s not a toy btw, it’s a breed of dog).

Gerald Kok Zhin Oi, a 23-year old man abused his then-girlfriend brother’s dog. A 3-and-a-half-year-old toy poodle named Treasure.

He had been abusing this dog for a few months, every time he was alone with it.

The parents of his then-girlfriend grew suspicious and even installed CCTV cameras to see what Gerald was doing to Treasure.

And how did Treasure die?

Well, Gerald hit Treasure with a sofa cushion and a plastic clothes hanger, before flinging it three times towards a bed and it died on the last impact when it hit the wall.

Gerald was charged with a 12-week jail sentence and is banned from owning a dog for one year from his release date.

10. An unresolved case of cat abuse. 

The last one is really heartbreaking because the culprit has not yet been found.

A friendly stray cat dubbed ‘Orni’ by Block 412, Pandan Gardens’ residents had been in the area for 14 years. t had a fixed routine and residents liked this cat and took care of it collectively.

So it was to the shock of Ms Wu Caifang, that she discovered Orni covered in blood on Jan 5 this year.

She and a neighbour brought Orni to the vet who discovered a deep stab wound at the top of Orni’s mouth. It was a knife wound, meaning someone had to have done it intentionally.

It struggled in pain before it died, making blood ooze out of its eye. And it died in pain, right before the vet was about to inject a sedative.

It’s a shocking and brutal incident. And if anyone knows anything, please contact the AVA at 1800-476-1600. Everything will be kept confidential.

I hope this has opened your eyes to animal abuse in Singapore. Please be on the lookout for anyone abusing or abandoning their pets. Take a video/picture and send it to the AVA.

And please, all pet owners, treat your pets with the utmost of respect, care and love.