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A man linked to the recent spate of cat abuses in Ang Mo Kio has been charged with animal cruelty and sent for psychiatric evaluation. 

Leow Wei Liang, 37, was accused of allegedly slashing a white-and-gray cat with a penknife on May 2 at the carpark of Block 352A Ang Mo Kio Street 32. He was arrested by officers from the National Parks Board’s Animal and Veterinary Service on Tuesday, following online appeals from animal groups looking into the string of at least 10 cat abuses that happened in the neighborhood recently. 

District Judge Marvin Bay allowed Leow to be taken to the Institute of Mental Health for two weeks. The prosecution also said in court that Leow has been involved in other animal abuse cases in Ang Mo Kio. 

Last month, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, and the Cat Welfare Society appealed for eyewitnesses to come forward after they found lacerations on 10 stray cats since late April. Animal group volunteer and cat lover Nicole Chan, 33, said the cats have been treated and were put up for adoption and foster care. Chan helped to other volunteers in their search for the perpetrator. 

Leow faces up to three years’ jail and a S$30,000 (US$22,700) fine.

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