Yishun cat killings (2015)

Between the months of September and December 2015, several stray cats were found dead in the Yishun area. The series of animal-related deaths caught the attention of Singapore media. The stray cats died of unnatural causes, with signs of blunt force trauma on the spine caused by either strangulation or the impact from being thrown from a height.

Details of the incident

The killings started on 24 September 2015. Within a span of 3 months, there had been 17 reported cases of animal abuse and 16 deaths in Yishun. The only survivor of the attacks was found behind Northland Primary School on 24 September 2015.

On 23 October 2015, Mr Louis Ng, Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC and founder of animal protection organisation Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) (official website) addressed the situation personally through a Facebook post. In the post, he detailed the exact locations and timings of the incidents. Additionally, he appealed to residents to assist with ongoing investigations by stepping up as witnesses or sharing footage recorded in their in-vehicle cameras with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA). Based on MP Louis Ng’s Facebook, the list of known attacks as of 23 October 2015 are as follows:

1. 24 September 2015, Blk 661 Yishun Ave 4
2. 24 September 2015, Blk 852 Yishun St 81
3. 24 September 2015, Northland Primary School
4. 25 September 2015, Blk 123 Yishun St 11
5. 26 September 2015, Blk 281 Yishun St 22
6. 1 October 2015, Blk 135 Yishun St 11
7. 5 October 2015, Yishun Polyclinic

4 cats were found dead over 2 days in September 2015 and 7 additional cats were killed in October 2015. The killings continued into November and December. On 28 November 2015, a black cat’s carcass was found near a rubbish chute. The alleged cause of death seems to have been strangulation by a piece of cord. On 30 November 2015, a severely injured cat with a curtain hook lodged into its skin, was rescued. It later succumbed to its injuries.The last abused cat in 2015 was found on 12 December in a multi-story carpark. Consistent with the cat deaths in the previous months, the causes of death for all the cases were clearly linked to human activity.

Responses

Netizens response

Residents of Yishun and other concerned netizens launched the #YishunCatPatrol movement on Twitter. This social media movement gathered members of the public who were interested in protecting the stray cats from further violence. On 25 December 2015, #YishunCatPatrol trended on Twitter in Singapore, ranking 19 on the poll.

Yishun 326 Tabby Cat

Found in 2012, Yishun 326 Tabby Cat (Facebook page) is a group of community feeders who often feed the stray cats of Yishun in the night time. In a TNP article dated 16 December 2015, Janet Sum, founder of Yishun 326 Tabby Cat, addressed the severity of the situation. She explicitly cited some examples of the unnatural cat deaths in Yishun, where a cat had its eye gouged out and its tongue slit, as well as another case where the cat’s carcass had its limbs chopped off. In response to the slew of cat killings, the group extended their feeding times from 2AM until 4AM in order to patrol the area and protect the safety of the strays.

Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng

Mr Louis Ng, the MP for Nee Soon GRC has shown solidarity with the residents on this matter by actively sharing appeals for information from the Cat Welfare Society (CWS), Singapore Police Force and Yishun 326 Tabby Cat on his personal Facebook page.

On 15 December 2015, MP Louis Ng announced that the grassroots fast response team would be improved upon. The improvements were meant to facilitate neighbourhood patrols and evidence gathering. These steps were taken to properly prosecute suspects using verifiable evidence such as videos and photographs. As of 15 December 2015, the grassroots fast response team comprised of 20 to 30 grassroots volunteers, cat feeders and residents. He also appealed to residents to provide any information they can.

Known suspects

Lee Wai Leong

On 29 December 2015, 41-year-old Lee Wai Leong was arrested and charged for one of the cat deaths in the series of killings in 2015. On 10 May 2016, Lee confessed to killing an adult tabby cat on 30 October 2015 by throwing it over the 13th floor parapet. He stated that he had killed the cat as it was “noisy” and had “entered his house once before”. District Judge Mathew Joseph stressed that Lee Wai Leong was not responsible for all the cat deaths in Yishun and that his was a standalone incident. After a psychological examination with the Institute of Mental Health, Lee was identified to have a moderate intellectual disability. Additionally, it was reported that he suffered from epilepsy since he was 1 years old. He dropped out of school in Primary 4, and was deemed unfit to work due to his pre-existing medical conditions. As a result of his mental incompetence, Lee was sentenced to 18-months of probation instead of the usual sentence as per the Animal and Birds Act. Animal abuse out of malice warrants 8 months in jail and a fine of up to S$15,000.

Second Suspect

On 23 January 2016, an unnamed man in his 50s was reported and arrested for alleged animal abuse. He was apprehended when the AVA and Singapore Police Force were alerted after a cat carcass was discovered next to Block 116, Yishun Ring Road. The suspect is noted to be from the household that owned the deceased cat.

Further developments

On 19 January 2016, Meezus, who belonged to a family residing in Yishun, was found dead and placed in a drain near Block 361, Yishun Ring Road. Meezus was the 19th cat to be found dead in Yishun since 24 September 2015. On 20 July 2017, a cat carcass with two puncture wounds on its body was found at Yishun Street 72.

In 2017, there were 4 reported cases of cat abuse and killings in Yishun.

• On 9 February 2017, a cat had its’ throat slit, with its’ carcass left at the road divider near Yishun MRT.
• On 27 February 2017, a cat carcass was discovered behind Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Yishun, in a beaten-up and bloodied state.
• On 24 October 2017, a dead cat was discovered in front of a neighborhood grocery store at 261 Yishun Street 22.
• On 25 October 2017, two cat carcasses were found at Block 133 and 134 Yishun Street 11. One of them was suspected to have been thrown from a height, while the other had a stab wound on its’ back.

On 6 November 2018, a community cat was found dead after drinking a bowl of poisoned milk at the void deck of Block 356 Yishun Ring Road.