SINGAPORE, June 3 — Authorities are investigating after a cat was found dead with its legs unnaturally splayed at the foot of a staircase in Yishun, the National Parks Board (NParks) said today.

The incident, which took place at Block 510A along Yishun Street 51, came to public attention on Sunday following a Facebook post that included photos of the animal’s body, according to a report published in Channel News Asia.

"NParks received feedback on a cat found dead at the foot of a staircase at Yishun Street 51 and is looking into the matter,” the agency said in response to media queries. "We urge the public not to speculate on the details of the case and allow investigations to run its proper course.”

The Facebook post by the group Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats claimed that a 24-hour hotline was contacted but no help was rendered, with a screenshot indicating the number belonged to a private veterinary clinic.

The group also noted the discovery was made near a location where another cat had previously been found dead with serious injuries.

Yishun has seen a series of similar incidents, with cats found either dead or injured under suspicious circumstances, raising concerns among animal welfare advocates and the public.

Last month, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam highlighted a particularly gruesome case in Yishun Street 51, where a cat was reportedly tortured, mutilated and left on the road.

"What kind of person will do this? This is not who we are as a people,” he wrote on Facebook.

Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats described the cat in that incident as having been "brutally tortured and left on the road in a failed attempt to disguise this crime as an accident”.

In a separate case in Punggol, another cat was found injured near the loading bay at Block 326B, Sumang Walk. NParks later said its injuries were likely from a traffic accident rather than intentional cruelty.

According to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), reports of animal cruelty and welfare cases in Singapore hit a 12-year high last year, with 961 cases recorded in 2024.