32-Year-Old Man Specifically Looked for Cats to Abuse in AMK to Vent His Frustration

A 32-year-old man has been charged with five counts of violating the Animals and Birds Act for his cruel acts of abusing community cats in Ang Mo Kio. On Tuesday (15 October), he pleaded guilty to three of the charges, with the remaining charges to be considered during sentencing next month.

Here’s what happened.

A 32-Year-Old Man Targeted Cats in Ang Mo Kio to Vent His Frustration

According to court documents, the accused began abusing cats in late 2019 whenever he felt frustrated.

He would drive to the Ang Mo Kio HDB estate to find community cats. Initially, he only kicked the cats to relieve his anger, but his actions escalated as he started capturing them and putting them in bags.

After abusing the cats, he would release them elsewhere, and at times, he killed them by throwing them from high-rise buildings.

In the early hours of 21 April 2020, he caught a cat at an HDB block along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. He grabbed the cat by its neck, brought it to the 12th floor, and threw it off, causing its death.

After confirming the cat was dead, he retrieved a garbage bag from his car, placed the carcass inside, and disposed of it.

About a month later, he targeted another cat, this time throwing it from the eighth floor of an HDB block. When he realized the cat was still alive, he stomped on it until it died before disposing of the carcass in a trash bin.

His abusive behavior continued in June 2020, when he threw yet another cat from the 12th floor of an HDB block in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

The cat survived but suffered multiple fractures.

In December 2020, he committed another offense by catching a cat and slamming it against a wall, causing multiple fractures.

What Could Happen Next

The prosecution is seeking a 24-month jail term for Lin. In the sentencing submissions, the prosecution wrote, “The manner in which (the man) abused the cats was brutal, and he should be made to pay for what he had done.”

The prosecutor noted that despite his psychiatric condition—major depressive disorder—the man retained his ability to control his impulses for all his offenses.

In mitigation, the man’s lawyer acknowledged the severity of the acts and did not attempt to justify them, describing them as a “maladaptive series of attempts to reduce emotional pain.”

He added that the man, a first-time offender, deeply regrets his actions. The man was just married in September 2023 and has the support of his family in his rehabilitation.

The judge acknowledged that the man has the potential for rehabilitation but declined to call for a mandatory treatment order.