‘One of the worst cases of animal cruelty’: Singapore man admits to throwing two cats from HDB block in Ang Mo Kio

SINGAPORE, Oct 16 — A Singapore man has admitted to abusing cats in the Ang Mo Kio area, in what prosecutors have described as “one of the worst cases of animal cruelty” they had encountered.

The Straits Times (ST) reported Barrie Lin Pengli, 32, as pleading guilty yesterday to three counts of animal cruelty, with two additional charges to be considered during his sentencing on November 13.

Lin’s disturbing behaviour included kicking, suffocating, and ultimately, killing two cats by throwing them from high-rise buildings.

Despite his admission of having major depressive disorder, Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh rejected the idea of a mandatory treatment order instead of jail time.

“Rehabilitation has been wholly eclipsed... given the cruelty inflicted by the defendant on the cats and the extreme harm suffered by them,” he was quoted as saying in court.

The court heard that Lin began his campaign of cruelty around late 2019.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Regina Lim said that whenever Lin felt frustrated, he would stroll through the Ang Mo Kio area, aware that it had a higher population of cats that he could harm.

“He would initially kick them, but it escalated to suffocating them in sealable bags before releasing them,” Lim added.

According to ST, one of the most egregious incidents occurred at approximately 3:30am on April 21, 2020, when Lin dropped a cat from the 12th floor of Block 572 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, killing it instantly. The cat’s body was disposed of, and it was never recovered.

A month later, on May 15, Lin dangled another cat over the parapet of the eighth floor of Block 645 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.

When the cat scratched him in panic, Lin dropped it and later stomped on its neck to ensure it was dead after realising it had survived the fall. He disposed of that cat’s carcass in a dustbin at a nearby bus stop.

An eyewitness to this second incident alerted the police, leading to Lin’s arrest later that day.

After his arrest, Lin sought psychiatric help, which resulted in some improvement in his condition.

He secured a full-time job in November 2021, but his urges resurfaced on December 27, 2021, following a Christmas gathering.

“That day, he caught a cat and slammed it against a void deck wall twice,” DPP Lim told the court, adding that the cat could be heard screaming in pain before escaping.

Community cat feeders intervened, taking the injured cat to a veterinarian, who reported multiple fractures and long-term osteoarthritis.

In her closing remarks, DPP Lim requested a 24-month jail sentence for Lin, emphasising the brutality of his actions and asserting that he had retained the ability to control his impulses despite his psychiatric condition.

In mitigation, Lin’s lawyer, Azri Imran Tan, acknowledged the severity of his client’s actions, describing them as a “maladaptive series of attempts to reduce emotional pain.”

He said that Lin, a first-time offender, deeply regretted his actions and had the support of his family following his marriage in September 2023.

Judge Soh acknowledged Lin’s potential for rehabilitation but stressed the importance of accountability, stating, “You should, but at the same time, you need to serve the punishment for the crimes you’ve committed.”