Rilek1Corner

Tag: ill treatment

  • [Saving The Siameses Update] Cats Are Recovering Well, Donations For Catteries Still Required

    [Saving The Siameses Update] Cats Are Recovering Well, Donations For Catteries Still Required

    Edited with update: Funds for Revolution is already covered. We are now raising funds for the rental of 2-3 catteries, which amounts to $1800 – $2700 per month. If you wish to help cover the first month’s rental in any way, kindly DM me (@fioloh).
    •••
    Most of you may have seen this case surfaced on Facebook today. Yes, this is one of the underground cases that we handle. This is the house of a backyard breeder. This is the classic case of illegal breeding for sale of kittens & cats for money, breeding spun out of control, and then rescuers have to step in to clear the mess that shouldn’t even happen in the first place.
    Concrete plans are in place now. We would save all of them. All 50+ cats would be saved out of the hellhole this coming Monday. No cats would be culled by the authorities. No cats would be left behind.

    We need support. We cannot do it alone. Our personal contacts have supported us in many ways – either sponsoring or heavily-subsidizing of necessary items.

    Right now, we need contributions to pay for 20 boxes of Revolution, which is absolutely needed urgently. Each box of 3 vials is $25 (already heavily-subsidized), so amount of donations needed is $500 in total.
    If you are able to contribute or help in any ways, kindly DM me. (@fioloh).
    c.c. @ling.m.choo @lauraannmeranda
    #YouBreedForMoney#ButTheCatsAreInnocent#NowWeHaveToClearTheMessYouStarted

    P.S: if anybody else is trying to raise funds for this case, please DO NOT transfer to them. Funds for this case is only to be collected by either me (@fioloh) or @ling.m.choo

    **

    As most of the cats are not sterilised yet, they have been separated based on their gender to prevent any unwanted kittens. I mean – we are talking about 94 cats to be rehomed! Havent we had enough on our plate??

    Thank you Pet Boarding Centre for helping to check their gender one by one and separate accordingly!

    Photograph :
    Think it’s the first time they are separated ..

     

    ***

    This is to address some queries on fund-raising and explains why we are not accepting food donations.

    1) Regarding funds collected:
    There is an excel sheet which we are tabulating consistently. This excel sheet would show amount of funds (together with the list of kind donors) collected. Expenses would also be properly stated and tabulated in the same excel sheet that we will be publishing soon. We would also show all invoices and receipts. Thank you for your understanding and kind patience.

    2) Regarding food donations:
    We thank everybody for their offer to donate food items! However, the cats are on a specific brand of good quality kibbles to ensure consistency and prevent stomach upsets (so that we have one less problem to worry about). Kibbles, water and litter is already included in the rental of catteries. Hence, we do not need these items too.

    We do not want to waste donors’ money too. Hence, we have approached many distributors and pet retail stores to see if they can sponsor items that we have to buy – so that funds are only used for rental of catteries and medical bills, as well as payment for necessary items such as Revolution (for cats).

    Some distributors and pet retail stores have generously offered full sponsorship, and some others offered heavily-subsidized rates. The sponsored items would soon be updated on our Facebook page “Saving The Siameses”.

    Hope this clarifies some queries of new donors who may not be aware of how careful we are with money.

     

    Source: Saving The Siameses

  • Singapore Couple Staying In Orchard Road Condo On Trial For Starving Filipino Maid

    Singapore Couple Staying In Orchard Road Condo On Trial For Starving Filipino Maid

    A Singaporean couple is on trial for allegedly starving their Filipina domestic helper. She weighed just 29kg when she escaped from their Orchard Road condominium in April 2014.

    Lim Choon Hong and wife Chong Sui Foon, both 47, face one charge each under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which states that employers are responsible for the “maintenance” of their foreign employee, including proving them with adequate food.

    Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, had worked for the couple for almost 1.5 years before she escaped and sought refuge at HOME, a non-profit organisation that assists migrant workers, including domestic helpers.

    Ms Thelma lost 20kg whilst working for Lim and Chong. She told HOME of only being given instant noodles to eat twice a day for over a year. On some occasions, she was given bread.

    Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan lost 20 kg over a 15-month period while working for Lim Choon Hong and his wife Chong Sui Foon at their condominium in Orchard. (Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY)

    Chong also only allowed her to shower once or twice a week, keeping tabs on Ms Thelma to make sure she did not use any hot water, despite forcing her to shower in the condominium’s public toilet, Ms Christina Quek, the investigation officer in charge of the case, told the court.

    HOME reported Ms Thelma’s conditions to the Ministry of Manpower, who directed the NGO to send Ms Thelma for a medical check up.

    In court on Monday (Dec 14), Dr Lim Huiyu, senior resident at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s department of gastroenterology and hepatology who examined Ms Thelma in April this year, testified that she suffered “significant weight loss due to insufficient intake of food”. This conclusion was arrived at after ruling out medical or organic causes. So malnourished was Ms Thelma that she did not have her period for a year, the doctor said.

    “I WAS SHIVERING FROM HUNGER”

    Ms Thelma took the stand on Monday afternoon, and guided by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet, detailed her alleged ordeal.

    The couple asked her to work odd hours, telling her to sleep in the storeroom in the day and putting her to work overnight. Ms Thelma brought up a particularly draining episode when she woke up on a Monday at 7pm and was made to work without rest till Wednesday. She had told Chong she was tired from working over 24 hours, but was told to”hurry up and finish”, Ms Thelma told the court.

    The petite woman also recalled how she was “shivering from hunger”. “When I am still hungry, I will ask for more … sometimes she will give me more, but the next meal I will get less”, Ms Thelma said.

    Chong would sometimes add some meat and vegetables to her food, Ms Thelma told the court, but in the form of “one slice of tomato … or cucumber”. As for meat, Ms Thelma pointed to her little finger to indicate the size of the portion. “Is that all?”, DPP Tan asked. “Yes. I always felt hungry,” Ms Thelma added.

    “I DIDN’T RECOGNISE MYSELF IN THE MIRROR”

    Ms Thelma was never allowed to eat out with the family. Even when Lim and Chong brought their three children to stay at Raffles Hotel, they packed instant noodles and bread for Ms Thelma.

    “I became skinny. I didn’t recognise myself when I looked in the mirror,” Ms Thelma said. She broke down sobbing at one point, and had to be given a 10-minute break to compose herself.

    The 40-year-old also told the court she felt weak in general, and that her clothes were getting looser. After a while, her hair started dropping out. She stopped getting her period in February 2013, a month after starting work for the couple.

    Ms Thelma told the court that she tried to plead with Chong for more food on one of the instances when the Singaporean was supervising her whilst she showered. “I pleaded with her when she was in the bathroom with me: ‘Look at my body, I am skin and bones already’”. But Chong pretended not to have heard her, she said.

    Ms Thelma sobbed uncontrollably in court and covered her face when shown pictures of herself at 29kg, after running away from her employers’ home.

    If found guilty, Lim and Chong could be jailed up to 12 months and/or fined up to S$10,000.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com