SINGAPORE – A man alleged to be behind a series of cat cuts in Ang Mo Kio was also charged on Wednesday, July 7th.
Leow Wei Liang, 37, is now accused of slashing six other cats with a penknife between April 25 and May 20.
This brings the total number of charges Leow is facing to seven.
He was previously charged with injuring a cat with a penknife on May 2.
On Wednesday, the court heard that Leow had been assessed by a psychiatrist with the Mental Health Institute with autism and an underlying antisocial personality.
But the psychiatrist noted that his atrocities “were not due to the difficulty in understanding the consequences of his actions”.
Leow, who was attending the trial from a distance, interrupted the trial several times in an attempt to preserve his innocence.
At one point, he told the court that he couldn’t have slashed the cats because they were moving quickly and hiding under cars.
He later said he did not understand the crimes he allegedly committed.
Leow was arrested on June 8th by the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS), which reports to the National Parks Board (NParks), with the assistance of the police.
At least 10 cats have been found with deep cuts on their bodies since the end of April.
The attacks occurred between 8 Ang Mo Kio Avenue and 1 Ang Mo Kio Avenue.
As a result of the cuts, some of the neighborhood cats in the Ang Mo Kio area were housed in boarding facilities in Lim Chu Kang and The Animal Lodge.
Jessica Kwok, the NParks group director for community animal management, said in a previous statement that protecting animal welfare is a shared social responsibility. She also called on the public to report suspected animal cruelty to AVS immediately.
AVS can be reached through this website https://www.nparks.gov.sg/avs/feedback or 1800-476-1600.
The Leow case will be heard again on July 27th.
For each animal cruelty charge he is convicted of, Leow may be jailed for up to 18 months or fined up to $ 15,000, or face both penalties.