A 25-year-old man first threw a cat from the 10th floor staircase landing of an HDB block and when he found that it was still alive, he slammed it on the ground twice to make sure that it died.
On Monday (March 13), Fajar Ashraf Fajar Ali, who works as a supervisor in the food and beverage industry, was jailed for 18 weeks on two counts of animal cruelty. He committed the acts on the 10th floor and at the void deck of Block 884 Tampines Street 83 on May 26 last year.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Soh Weiqi said that at 1.07am that day, Ashraf had left home to look for cats to play with.
About half an hour later, he saw the female shorthair cat at a neighbouring block and lured it into the lift with cat food.
He took the lift to the 10th storey and played with the cat at the staircase landing.
When the cat tried to escape, he lured it back with more food.
He then picked the animal up and dropped it over the ledge.
He went to the ground floor to check if the cat was alive. When he found that it was still alive, he picked the cat up and slammed it on the ground twice. He left after making sure the cat was dead.
He stated that he had committed the various acts as he was frustrated that cats did not want to go near him.
He was arrested five days later.
His lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu said his client was deeply remorseful for his actions and regretted mistreating the cat and causing its death.
The prosecution had sought five months’ jail for Ashraf, who has been found unsuitable for mandatory treatment order.
District Judge May Mesenas agreed with DPP Soh that a deterrent sentence was needed to ensure that like-minded individuals do not commit such offences.
Ashraf could have been fined up to $15,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months per charge.
Source: ST
