NParks investigating suspected animal cruelty case after death of Punggol cat
The cat had been found severely injured near Block 326B Sumang Walk. (Photo: Facebook/Luni Singapore)
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SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) is investigating a case of suspected animal cruelty after the death of a community cat in Punggol.
The cat was found injured in a car park near Block 326B Sumang Walk. Animal welfare group Luni Singapore described the case as "one of the most brutal" it had encountered.
This is the second purported case of cat abuse in a week, after another feline was found dead in Yishun with signs of torture.
"NParks has received feedback involving a cat found dead at Yishun Street 51 and an injured cat found in a car park near Block 326B Sumang Walk. We are looking into both cases," the agency said on Wednesday (May 14) in response to CNA's queries.
According to Luni Singapore, the Punggol community cat was a male tabby named Shere Khan, also known as Papa Cat.
It was registered under Luni Singapore and was found severely injured "likely on May 11 or 12", the group said on Facebook. An unknown person brought the injured cat to the vet, and the animal welfare group was eventually contacted.
"Despite receiving immediate veterinary care, Shere Khan did not survive. The nature of his injuries points strongly to deliberate abuse, potentially involving strangulation or blunt force trauma," Luni Singapore said in its Facebook post.
"This is one of the most brutal cases we have encountered, and we are determined to find out what happened."
In response to CNA queries on Wednesday, Luni Singapore’s founder, Ms Nina Astolfi, said the group has not received any leads, adding that the Cat Welfare Society was helping to conduct door-to-door outreach together with caretakers and feeders of the area.
Ms Astolfi said the veterinary report showed that the cat had bilateral proptosis (both eye globes protruding significantly from their sockets), swelling and lacerations of the tongue, superficial bruising on the right side of the face, a small lesion on top of the head and frayed nails on all four paws.
The cat was also hypothermic and dehydrated upon arrival at the vet, she added.
Ms Astolfi said emergency medical costs amounted to about S$260, which the group said it covered with support from community donations.
The Punggol case comes days after another cat was found dead in Yishun with severe injuries.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who is Member of Parliament for the area, drew attention to the incident in a Facebook post last Friday, saying: "A community cat in Yishun had been tortured, eyes gouged out, body cut up and organs split.
"What kind of person will do this? This is not who we are as a people."
Facebook page Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats said the cat had been found "brutally tortured and left on the road in a failed attempt to disguise this crime as an accident".
In 2024, the number of cases involving animal cruelty and welfare in Singapore rose to a 12-year high of 961, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
