Toa Payoh cat abuse: Man remanded after allegedly abusing sixth cat by slamming it against wall

SINGAPORE: A man accused of abusing multiple cats by stabbing them or throwing one down from the 34th floor has been remanded and handed a sixth charge of “cruelly (torturing)” a sixth cat.

Tan Yi Bin Ryan, a 26-year-old Singaporean, returned to court on Wednesday (Jul 16) for a mention of his case for six charges under the Animals and Birds Act.

According to charge sheets, most of his alleged abuse occurred in Toa Payoh.

The latest charge he was given states that he dragged a cat, named only as E6 in court papers, by its tail between 1pm and 1.10pm on Mar 13. 

This was at a common corridor near a first-floor unit at Block 15, Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.

He then allegedly slammed the light-brown cat against a wall three times and dropped it on the floor, causing bleeding from the feline’s mouth and nose. This was described as an act of “(cruel) torture” in the charge sheet.

According to court records, he was remanded the next day.

Tan was previously given five other charges. These allege that he stabbed a ginger and white domestic shorthair cat referred to as E2, leaving a 5cm-long wound between 2am and 4am on Sep 21, 2024.

Between 4pm and 6pm on Sep 22, 2024, Tan allegedly stabbed three other cats. These were a black microchipped tabby at Block 36, Lorong 5 Toa Payoh, as well as a ginger domestic shorthair and a white microchipped cat at Block 200, Toa Payoh North.

Between 3.48am and 3.51am on Oct 7, 2024, Tan allegedly kicked an orange cat known as Field Field inside a lift at Block 78, Lorong Limau in the Kallang Whampoa area. He then stamped on the cat’s head multiple times and threw it down from the 34th floor, killing it.

On Wednesday, the court granted an adjournment of the case in light of the recent High Court judgment.

Justice Vincent Hoong had nearly doubled the jail term for cat abuser Barrie Lin Pengli from 14 months’ jail to 27 months, after the prosecution appealed.

Lin had abused five cats, killing two.

Tan’s case will be heard again in August.

If convicted of animal abuse, he could be jailed for up to 18 months, fined up to S$15,000, or both per charge.