SINGAPORE, June 1 — A 25-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of abusing a cat at Block 884, Tampines Street 83 last week.

The cat was a grey Siamese that was found dead with blood oozing from its mouth last Wednesday. 

A Tampines resident had seen a man who looked to be in his 20s slam the cat on the ground twice and burn it with a lighter.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a statement today that after it was alerted to the case at nearly 3am last Thursday, it collected the cat carcass for post mortem examination. 

It also started surveillance before arresting the man at about 1.30am on May 31.

The AVA said that it looks into all feedback on animal cruelty and will take the necessary enforcement actions against perpetrators, but noted that safeguarding animal welfare is a shared social responsibility that requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, including the public.

Joshua Teoh, deputy director of AVA’s animal management group, cited this case as an example, noting that members of the public had approached them to share information on the suspect.

“We are heartened by their civic-mindedness. The information provided helped us to establish the identity of the suspect quickly,” he said, urging members of the public to submit any leads on animal cruelty cases via AVA’s 24-hour hotline (1800-476 1600).

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone found guilty of animal cruelty can be fined up to S$15,000 (RM44,997) and/or jailed up to 18 months, or both for the first offence. 

For second and subsequent offences, the maximum penalty is S$30,000 or a jail term of up to 3 years, or both. — TODAY