Saturday, July 10, 2004
~ Not again.... Why must these animals suffer because of inhumane ppl? ~
11:14:00 pm
The New Paper, Friday 9 July 2004
One kitten cut in half. Another's head slashed, leg cut off...
By Alvin Chiang
IN less than two weeks, a mother cat lost three of her four babies.
While one apparently died of natural causes, two were found dead with their bodies cut up.
A cat lover was shocked when she saw the dead kittens.
Miss E Q Shen, 31, found 'Mini' dead on Jun 24 and 'Snow White' on Jun 27.
What was left of their bodies was found near two empty adjacent wet market stalls in Block 33, Dover Road.
The third cat, 'Baby', had died earlier, at the same market.
The account manager had identified and named the strays after doing a head count of the cats in the neighbourhood.
Miss Shen, a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said: 'Mini's body was cut in half. The lower half below her chest was missing and there were no internal organs left in the carcass.
'Only her front left paw was attached to the dead body.
'One of Snow White's legs was chopped off and her head was so badly cut I couldn't tell where it was.
'I dared not touch the body.'
The ground where the remains were found was dry, she said.
'There were blood stains but they were not found in a pool of blood.'
Three months ago, Miss Shen started the head count of cats in her neighbourhood.
She planned to get them sterilised.
This was how she got to know the mother cat and her kittens. Miss Shen said she checked on them almost every day.
'I was heartbroken when I saw them dead. I was very upset and didn't feel like talking to anyone after that.'
A week before Mini died, Miss Shen found Baby motionless. Baby's body was intact.
Together with a man in his 60s from the neighbourhood, Miss Shen buried Baby.
Miss Shen, who lives near the wet market, said they believed Baby died of natural causes.
It was the man, a retiree, who alerted Miss Shen to the deaths of Mini and Snow White.
Miss Shen did not want to identify the man because she said he went round the neighbourhood feeding stray cats every night, and had been scolded for it by some residents.
Miss Shen also made her rounds at night. That was how she got to know the man.
Madam Lim So Sing, 46, who sells dried foodstuff behind the empty stalls where the carcasses were found, said nothing like this had happened there before.
Madam Lim, a stall owner there for over 10 years, said: 'I didn't see the dead cats but I heard the cats were cut up very cleanly. The knife used must have been very sharp.'
Miss Shen called 999 on both occasions.
Police spokesman ASP Victor Keong said no-one had been arrested and police are investigating.
The SPCA said it was in touch with the police on the case.
Ms Deirdre Moss, SPCA's executive officer, said SPCA needed to wait for the police to finish their investigation to determine if the deaths of Mini and Snow White had been caused by abuse.
Ms Moss said: 'SPCA can't say if this was a case of abuse unless someone witnessed how the cats died.'
The mother and the remaining kitten is being taken care of by a member of the Cat Welfare Society.
Miss Shen said: 'I named the last kitten Lucky because it was the only one left alive.'
Under the Animals and Birds Act, a person found guilty of abusing animals can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $10,000.
Animal abusers: Mentally ill or a personality disorder
DR Ken Ung, a psychiatrist in private practice, said people who abuse animals could be mentally ill and may suffer from anti-social personality disorder.
This means they may not be able to feel for others, he said.
'They are masochistic and their anti-social streak is manifested in acts of severe cruelty to animals.'
Young boys in a group setting may also abuse animals to show off.
'Children who start out abusing animals may not develop the ability to feel remorse,' Dr Ung said.
'When they grow up, they may abuse people.'
Dr Francis Ngui, president of the Singapore Psychiatric Association, said it was not possible to know why anyone would be so cruel to the kittens unless he interviewed the person who did it.
Dr Ngui, a psychiatrist for 15 years, said: 'He could have killed for pleasure or he could be angry after a quarrel. But I can't say why he did it until I study his background and character.
'There could be many possible reasons.'
Mrs Cathy Strong, founder and president of The Animal Lovers League, was shocked when told of the kittens' deaths.
'I don't know why people abuse animals. They may be psychotic,' she said.
To encourage witnesses of animal abuse cases to come forward, the Cat Welfare Society offers a reward of $1,000 to anyone who gives information leading to the arrest of an animal abuser.
Ms Christina Eng, spokesman for the society, said the informant must make a police report and testify in court should there be a need.
No-one has yet been given the reward, since the society started the scheme in 2000.
Other inhumane treatment of animals
PENSIONER Suppiah G, 70, found a cat with four rubber bands tied tight around its neck at Marsiling estate market in May. The rubber bands had cut into the flesh and choked off blood circulation.
If Mr Suppiah had not removed the rubber bands, the cat would most likely have died as it could not eat due to the pain.
Mr Baxter Thong, 36, found the decomposing bodies of six kittens at Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate in June last year.
As the bodies had decomposed to the stage where maggots were eating their flesh, it was not possible for SPCA to do a post-mortem to find out how they died.
A small poodle was found abandoned and covered in faeces and infected sores in a lift at Geylang Bahru in December 2000.
Maggots were crawling on its body and bone could be seen through a raw, open wound on one of its legs.
Its front paw was missing.
The dog was put to sleep.
written, NaDiaH eRNiYaNTi
