Cat abuse - 2 letters to TODAY

Don't let animals end up like Spot
Firmer police action needed to prevent tragedies such as this cat's death

TODAY 9 May 2006
Letter from Tirta Andila Swari

I agree with Ms Lynn Lam in her letter, "Cat-killings still a problem" (May 8).

I am a Secondary 1 student. In Singapore, we need the police and people to take firmer action in animal killings.

On April 25, I found Spot ? a cat that we fed ? with bad internal and external injuries. He was fine when I saw him the night before at 11.15.

There was blood on the wall of the staircase. When I called the police, without asking any questions, the officer told me to call the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

I expected him to take action, but he didn't. So, I took Spot to the SPCA. On the way, Spot died.

I hope the police will take serious action to prevent animals from being harmed.

People complain about the feeding of stray cats because of the mess left behind. They complain to the authorities when stray cats walk past or enter their houses. But they don't report it when cats get bullied, harmed or killed.

I hope parents tell their children to love animals and not to abuse them.


Cat-killings still a problem
Animal abuse continues, and so does indifference

TODAY, 8 May 2006
Letter from Lynn Lam

It seems that the brief jail sentence for serial cat killer, David Hooi, hasn't deterred anyone from abusing animals.

In recent months, residents of the Old Airport Road area often heard piteous cries of cats. These poor cats were tortured to death with screwdrivers or strangled with metal wires. There was also a case of a kitten being thrown against a wall repeatedly until it died.

Their bodies are then usually laid out neatly on the top decks of Block 56A, Cassia Crescent and Block 93A, Jalan Dua multi-storey carparks.

Having to clear the dead bodies and clean the bloodied walls has deeply affected a poor cleaner, a cat lover himself.

The cleaner filed a report with the neighbourhood police with the blood-stained weapons he found at the crime scene but was apparently turned away without a proper statement recorded.

The reason? Lack of evidence!

In the eyes of the law, I suppose, evidence against animal cruelty means a complete witnessed account of the cruel act itself.

It is puzzling and frustrating that the police can't seem to call on modern forensics to identify the killer through the blood-stained weapons.

A concerned resident took action and wrote to the Town Council, which said her concern has been forwarded to the police for their necessary action.

As the killings continue, a follow-up on the case revealed that the police had supposedly increased the frequency of patrolling the multi-storey carparks.

But the killings still go on. Residents are restless and worried. More worryingly, residents have also reported more than one abuser in the vicinity.

A team of concerned animal lovers, of which I am a member, has been distributing flyers to raise awareness of the killings. We have also started patrolling the affected areas but are limited in resources and manpower.

When it comes to animal cruelty cases, there is always that nagging fear that the killers will be bored with torturing little animals and move on to bigger things. Animal cruelty is fast becoming a serious issue; it should no longer be swept under the rug.

We are the voice for animals. If we don't stand up for them, they will only suffer in silence.