Koh Zhen Yi was around his housing estate in Woodlands on a Sunday morning when he came across a horrifying sight. One of the neighborhood’s cats taken care of by residents there had what looked to be a cigarette burn so deep in its head that flesh was burned away.
He found the female tortoiseshell cat with the apparent torture wound around Block 304 Woodlands Street 31 and immediately contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, and the National Parks Board at around 9:45am.
“I noticed the burn on the cat’s head while she was eating,” the 32-year-old IT executive said. “It’s sad that anyone would do such a thing to an animal.”
Koh, who moved to Woodlands from Sembawang in 2018, said the cats in his neighborhood are mostly harmless and speculates that its attacker may have been overreacted to kitty’s claws coming out.
“Sometimes, when they’re pet, the cats may bite or scratch. Maybe that triggered the attack on the cat,” he said.
NParks and Marsiling-Yew Teen GRC MP Hany Soh have not immediately responded to Coconuts’ queries requesting for comment.
Koh said the cat is now in the care of NParks and is slated to be released back to the neighborhood after a week in recovery.
Koh thinks that this was a “one-off incident” rather than a serial animal abuser, as he is unaware of any other abused cat cases in the Woodlands area.
The most recent cat abuse occurred last May, when several felines were slashed with a penknife in the Ang Mo Kio area. A man linked to the attacks was charged with animal cruelty and sent for psychiatric testing.
After this story was published, Koh sent a video showing that the cat has been released, though the wound is still visible.
Editor’s note: Robin Hicks is a volunteer with the wildlife rescue group ACRES.
Update: This story has been updated with a video from Koh.
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