SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — A 19-year-old teenager, who was first hauled to court two months ago, has been further charged with abusing a frog by placing it on a foosball table and directing a ball at “high speed and force” towards it.

Ralph Wee Yi Kai was first charged in July with criminal trespass, after purportedly jumping into an enclosure at the Singapore Zoo on Dec 17 last year and posting a TikTok video of a backflip. 

The video, which has since been removed from his TikTok account, was circulated online.

Wee is now accused of wantonly causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the frog on Dec 24 last year at a Sentosa Cove home.

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It sustained injuries after being struck by the ball and died shortly afterwards, according to court documents.

It is unclear if that was his place of residence, or whether the frog belonged to anyone.

On Wednesday (Sept 15), he was taken back to court where his bail sum of S$15,000 (RM46,525) was revoked. He has been held on remand in Changi Prison since then.

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A police prosecutor applied for no bail to be offered, saying Wee had allegedly breached bail conditions by not showing up for urine tests at the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), which is awaiting reports on Wee potentially abusing prescribed drugs.

The prosecutor added that CNB was unable to contact the accused. A warrant of arrest was then issued against him on Monday.

Wee’s lawyer, Shashi Nathan from Withers KhattarWong, expressed concerns about his client having suicidal tendencies. He told the court that Wee had actually been at the Institute of Mental Health on Monday, and asked for him to be remanded at Changi Prison’s Complex Medical Centre.

District Judge Terence Tay acknowledged this and ordered for the prison to receive this information.

Wee will return to court on Oct 13.

He currently faces five charges in total — one count of criminal trespass over the backflip stunt, three unrelated charges of mischief and vandalism, and one of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the frog.

Those convicted of the last offence can be jailed for up to 1.5 years or fined up to S$15,000, or punished with both.

Court documents showed that Wee allegedly vandalised a bus-stop information panel along Sixth Avenue at 2.40am on Oct 9 last year by hitting it. The damage amounted to S$900.

That same morning, he is said to have hit the side mirrors of two luxury cars — a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz — at Sixth Crescent. 

The damage to the BMW totalled about S$1,669 and that for the Mercedes-Benz came to around S$2,793. — TODAY