Singaporean boy caught on camera flinging cat off 22nd floor triggers punishment debate

A young boy was caught by surveillance cameras tossing a beloved group cat off the 22nd floor of a making in Singapore.

The 10-calendar year-outdated denied the allegations right until a cat caretaker who lived in the very same block, Block 186 Boon Lay Avenue, showed him the stability footage. He then confessed to the crime, stating that he only did it due to the fact “he did not get like and care from his family.”

Umi Solikati, a 39-12 months-previous Boon Lay resident, said she discovered the cat, named Panther, lifeless at all around 2 p.m. on Dec. 14. She had reportedly been feeding the cat each individual working day for about 11 several years, according to The Straits Moments.

In accordance to Chua Mui Mui, a 47-yr-old community bus captain recognized for feeding the local community cats, Panther’s death was not an isolated incident.

“In the past two to a few a long time, 5 cats were being thrown off from the similar block,” she was quoted as saying.

Several hours immediately after the online video was posted on the net, a Modify.org petition titled Justice for Panther was created, gathering nearly 60,000 signatures. The creator of the petition, Nadya Im, termed for the Animal and Veterinary Company and Singapore Law enforcement Power to “fully investigate and bring the perpetrator to justice.”

“We understand that the perpetrator is a juvenile and the Animal and Birds Act 1965 may possibly not implement but we urge the appropriate Authorities to implement this legislation and hope that this act of cruelty will be punished with an equivalent common,” Im wrote.

Below Section 42 of the Animal and Birds Act 1965, any human being located responsible of animal cruelty could encounter a high-quality of up to $15,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 18 months.

The movie was posted to a amount of on the internet communities, garnering potent views from various commenters. Amid people was a dialogue thread on the AskSingapore subreddit asking irrespective of whether the boy who threw the cat need to be punished.

The the vast majority of commenters held robust opinions that the boy ought to be brought to justice, irrespective of his age.

Some Redditors pointed out that animal abuse is recognized to be a single of the initially signals of psychopathy, suggesting that the boy could expand up to dedicate far more heinous crimes.

In response, other commenters proposed that the boy’s punishment should appear in the form of rehabilitation and education and learning.