Youth Who Backflipped in a Rhino Enclosure Will be Charged for Killing Frog

Unlike residents caught on camera not wearing a face mask or arguing with safe distancing ambassadors, there aren’t many people who do backflips in rhino enclosures.

So when you read the headline, you probably knew who we’re talking about.

For those who don’t know, a TikToker named Ralph Wee Yi Kai went viral last December for doing a backflip in a rhino enclosure.

He was charged by the police with criminal trespass, and the video has since been removed from the platform.

However, netizens later discovered that the 19-year-old had another encounter with an animal, except the creature was harmed this time.

And by harmed, I mean killed.

Youth Who Backflipped in a Rhino Enclosure Will be Charged for Killing Frog

Around the same time that the rhino incident occurred, a video clip of Wee and other teenagers “playing” with frogs went viral on social media.

To the horror of anyone with a conscience, the teens took out some live frogs from a box, placed them on a foosball table, and began hitting the ball around.

One frog was clearly trying to avoid being hit.

Another frog wasn’t as fortunate as it was struck by a ball that was flung at a high speed and with some force. The impact severely injured the amphibian and it died shortly after.

Now, Wee has been charged with killing the poor frog by causing unnecessary pain and suffering.

Faces Five Charges in Total; Could Face Jail Time

In addition to criminal trespass and charge over the frog abuse, Wee also faces three unrelated charges of mischief and vandalism.

Since Oct last year, the 19-year-old has been handed a total of five charges.

If he’s convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the frog, Wee could be jailed for up to 1.5 years, fined up to S$15,000, or both.

The teenager is expected to return to court on 13 Oct.

“A Reckless and Mindless Act”

It was in the third week of December 2020 that Wee went viral with his rhino enclosure stunt.

Teenagers are not exactly known for making rational decisions, and this certainly wasn’t one of them.

In a video which was later removed, the youth films himself and asks rhetorically: “What’s Ralph thinking about?”.

It seems that Ralph was thinking about how best to get into trouble with the law, as he was then seen trespassing into the rhino exhibit, where he does a backflip before darting out of the enclosure.

In the five seconds that he was inside the enclosure, two huge White rhinos could be seen in the background, not too far from the youth.

The youths facetiously added the text “Keep your distance” on top of the video, as well as “who’s man is this [sic]”.

Fortunately, the police soon found out whose man that was.

At the time, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) condemned the youth’s actions, calling it a “reckless and mindless act which is socially irresponsible, extremely dangerous, and simply disrespectful to wildlife and our animals”.

Read Also:

• Toto Prize Pool Allowed To Snowball For 4 Consecutive Draws Again
• 7 COVID-19 Updates Announced By The MTF During The 17 Sep Press Conference

Featured Image: Twitter (@Pengkritique); Instagram (thetwainhavemet)