Ang Mo Kio cat abductions: Man admits throwing cats down from HDB blocks, killing them

SINGAPORE: Over a year and eight months, a man abused five cats, killing two of them, severely injuring another and trapping the remaining two in “suffocating conditions”.
Barrie Lin Pengli, 32, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Oct 15) to three charges of animal cruelty under the Animals and Birds Act, with another two charges to be taken into consideration.
The prosecution is seeking two years’ jail for Lin, calling this one of Singapore’s worst cases of animal cruelty.
The court heard that Lin, a Singaporean, began abusing cats towards the end of 2019.
Whenever he felt frustrated or “troubled with his life”, he went for walks near Ang Mo Kio housing estates, where he knew there were more community cats and “options to harm the cats” when he was feeling angry.
He would drive there for his walks, keeping a lookout for cats.
Initially, Lin lashed out at the cats by kicking them. This escalated to the abduction of the animals by placing them in small waterproof bags that little to no air could enter when sealed.
After trapping the cats in the bags, abducting one to three at a time, Lin would put them in his car.
He released them elsewhere or killed them by throwing them from a high floor of a Housing Board block.
Lin abused cats between 2019 and 2020 to handle his “emotional distress”, the court heard. He felt “a sense of excitement, thrill and guilt” during the abuse, and a “sense of relief” after, prosecutors said.
At about 3.30am on Apr 21, 2020, Lin caught a black and white cat at Block 572, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.
He was caught on police camera footage holding the cat by the scruff of its neck and taking a lift.
He went to the 12th floor where he dangled the cat over the parapet, knowing cats are afraid of heights, before dropping it to its death.
The carcass was not recovered as Lin had disposed of it in a dustbin.
On May 15, 2020, again at about 3.30am, Lin found a dark-coloured cat at the void deck of Block 645, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. Police cameras caught him holding the cat in a lift.
He threw the cat off the eighth floor, sustaining scratches. When he went to the ground floor to check on the cat, he found that it was still alive and stomped hard on its neck, killing it.
He later threw the carcass away. Because police cameras captured his disposal of the carcass, it was subsequently retrieved and a post-mortem was conducted by National Parks Board veterinarians.
The cat, which had multiple injuries including fractured ribs, was found to have died of a blunt-force external traumatic incident.
On Apr 23, 2020, NParks received a list of missing cats compiled by the Cat Welfare Society, based on reports by community cat feeders.
The feeders had noticed more community cats going missing from HDB estates in Ang Mo Kio.
The police received an eyewitness report on May 15, 2020, that a person had thrown a cat down from Block 645, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, killing it.
Investigations led to Lin’s identification. He was arrested by the police on the same day they received the eyewitness report.
He was released on station bail and received psychological treatment between December 2020 and June 2021.
His depression symptoms improved and he got a full-time job in November 2021. However, on Dec 26, 2021, after having his friends over for Christmas, he sent some friends home and went back to Block 645, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.
Wanting to “test if he could control his urges to hurt cats”, he walked around the estate at about 5.15am.
He spotted a cat in a hedge and tried to coax it out, but the animal walked away. Eventually, he caught the cat and held it by the scruff of its neck.
He then slammed the cat against a wall, using full force by turning his whole upper body from right to left. The animal screamed in response.
He did this twice, before losing his grip on the cat. It fled. A passer-by saw what happened and reported the incident to NParks. 
Community cat feeders who had received news of the cat’s abuse found it in a nearby school on Dec 28, 2021, and took it to a vet.
It was diagnosed with a fractured limb and tooth and a cut on its lip. The cat was hospitalised for 14 days and underwent surgery, with the vet bills amounting to S$5,591.45.
The community rallied to raise funds to cover the cost. Because of the fracture and dislocation sustained as a result of the abuse, the cat is expected to suffer osteoarthritis of the affected elbow joint in the long term.
Prosecutors sought 24 months’ jail for Lin, citing the “deliberate and deplorable brutality” of his actions, the significant degree of harm and the strong public interest in ensuring that animals are not abused.
They objected to the defence’s calling for a mandatory treatment order (MTO), saying Lin was not suitable for it.
Defence lawyer Azri Imran Tan from IRB Law tried asking for an MTO suitability report but was rejected. He said his client was labouring under major depressive disorder as diagnosed by two psychiatrists.
Having undergone treatment and having had time to reflect on his actions, “Barrie is ashamed and is extremely sorry for his actions”, deeply regretting the harm caused, said Mr Tan.
He added that Lin had offered to make restitution early in proceedings but the offer was “regrettably not acceded to by the prosecution”.
Mr Tan said the offences took place over a short period of time when Lin was going through a “tumultuous period in his life”.
He was undergoing stressors including unemployment, family conflict and financial pressures, which led to him contemplating self-harm and suicide, said Mr Tan.
Initially, Lin went on walks to “ease his troubled mind” and patted friendly cats. If they were not friendly, he kicked them away.
“Over time, he developed animosity for cats as he viewed them as a nuisance, and would ‘relocate’ them,” said Mr Tan.
He said it was only when Lin’s depression “manifested in its worst form” that he caught cats and harmed them before disposing of the bodies.
Since then, Lin has “worked on personal development including fitness and upskilling, moved into his new Build-to-Order flat” and got married.
His family is fully supportive of his efforts at rehabilitation, said Mr Tan.
Lin will return to court in November for sentencing.