SINGAPORE: A man was fined S$10,000 by a district court on Monday (Jan 30) for failing to give his pet cat sufficient food and water, resulting in the animal’s death.
According to court records, Khairulnizam Khan Kamalrozaman was unable to pay the sum and will instead serve a sentence of 20 days’ jail in default of the fine.
Khairulnizam, 25, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Animals and Birds Act of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to a cat named Grey.
This was by omitting to provide enough food and water for the cat on a regular basis between Dec 25, 2020 and Feb 2, 2021.
According to court documents, Khairulnizam was staying in a flat with his wife in Sembawang Crescent at the end of 2018.
In February 2019, Khairulnizam adopted the cat and was its main caregiver.
From October 2020, Khairulnizam and his family lived away from the Sembawang flat, choosing instead to stay with either his in-laws in Woodlands or his aunt in Boon Lay as he worked at Jurong Port.
The cat was left at the Sembawang flat, and Khairulnizam would return occasionally to feed it.
By his own admission, he last fed the cat sometime in December 2020.
Between Dec 25, 2020 and Feb 2, 2021, Khairulnizam’s neighbour sent messages to him, saying there was a foul smell coming from the flat.
The neighbour asked Khairulnizam if his cat had died, as the neighbour had not seen Khairulnizam for about two months.
The neighbour sent several messages to Khairulnizam saying that the foul smell was getting stronger and that there was an urgent need for him to return immediately to check on the cat. But he did not.
The National Parks Board (NParks) received feedback from a member of the public about a dead cat at the Sembawang flat on Feb 2, 2021.
NParks officers went to the flat on the same day and found a cat’s carcass inside.
A post-mortem examination performed by NParks’ veterination found that the carcass indicated a state of mummification and significant autolysis.
This refers to “self-digestion”, where dying or dead cells digest themselves.
NParks’ vet said the time of death could not be ascertained, but that it would probably take at least a week for the carcass to reach that state of autolysis and mummification.
Khairulnizam was originally charged in August last year with starving his pet cat to death, but the charge was amended to the current one in October.
He had asked for several adjournments to raise funds to pay the fine asked for by the prosecution – first saying his wife had just given birth, then saying he had promised to take his daughter out for Chinese New Year.
At a hearing on Jan 18, he said he did not have any funds and asked for a deferment.
The judge said “last time round you had S$1,000, now you have no money at all”, before granting him a final adjournment.
He was eventually sentenced on Monday.
The penalties for unreasonably causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal under the Animals and Birds Act are a fine of up to S$15,000, a jail term of up to 18 months or both.
