It’s a popular narrative that Yishun is cursed for the many unfavourable happenings around the district.
Recently, Yishun got itself a reputation for being home to hordes of cat abusers, with 41 media reports in the last 5 years to back it up, although the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) clarified that only a small percentage of these cases were actual cruelty cases, as the rest of the cases were accidents or attacks by stray dogs.
Whether Yishun is deserving of such a name is debatable. But here’s what we are certain about: it’s an exciting place where things happened.
Be it winning tickets from the ang bao draw, or yet another case of animal abuse.
What Happened
On 11 Mar 2019, a Facebook user, Apollo Chan, uploaded a video onto the social media platform.
The video showed a man, presumedly a resident in Yishun, abusing his dog.
https://www.facebook.com/apollo.chan.1/videos/1566082940202306/
He was seen nonchalantly dragging his poodle up by the leash, as he stood up.
The dog then jumped down from the wall, only to be swung against it then back upon it again by the leash.
Another clip depicts the perpetrator kicking the dog’s body as it yelps and cowers.
As expected, the videos caused a stir among Facebook users, who expressed their anger disgust at the mistreatment.
But these aren’t the usual SJWs (social justice warriors) you see online.
Some took it upon themselves to change things for the better.
Taking Action
On 12 March, another video was uploaded to Chan’s page, this time showing a group of them confronting the owner of the poodle.
This group includes Chan, a lover of dogs himself, and Melody Yap who was heard explaining to an AVA officer about how the man, and his children as well, have been filmed abusing the dog.
They pleaded with the officer to not return the dog to the man.
The Father Influenced The Children
Melody Yap also details her observations on Facebook, talking about the way the man and his kids let the poodle strain against its motor leash, then press the button to retract the leash drag the dog towards them.
She commented that the father’s behaviour would have influenced the kids, which is an accurate but sinister observation.
Children exposed to and involved with intentional animal torture and cruelty (IATC) from young would leave them with a lasting negative impression that promotes antisocial acts in adulthood.
Back to the situation in Yishun, things got chaotic when the owner passed the dog to AVA to take away for investigations.
While trying to secure the poodle in the dog crate, it tried to escape by running across the street. Chan received a nasty nip on his hand when he caught it.
The details of the struggle have been posted on Facebook by Zoe Hannah.
This is Nothing
Despite this, Chan brushes away the concerns for his wound, saying “my bites are nothing”.
He explained that he was more infuriated when “the wretched owner even had the cheek to ask my goddaughter (when she questioned him) what did he do wrong.”
So far, the poodle remains thankfully out of the custody of the culprit, and under AVA’s care instead.
Its condition remains unknown but Hannah and Chan promised to update the netizens when they have news from the authorities.
This case is not the first, and unfortunately will not be the last one to feature animal abuse in Singapore.
But among all the bad shone the good of the animal-loving Samaritans who stepped in on their own initiative to rescue the dog from further mistreatment.
A truly inspiring group of people.
Here’s the REAL reason why everyone is hanging plushies on their bags, simplified for you:
