Last month, cat lovers had justice when convicted animal abuser Fajar Ashraf was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail for his appallingly cruel misdeed in Tampines.
If you recall, the 25-year-old tossed a stray cat down from the 10th floor staircase landing of Block 884 Tampines Street 83 in a fit of frustration. If that wasn’t heinous enough, he went down to make sure that the cat was dead by slamming it twice on the ground, before attempting to burn the corpse with a lighter.
The Cat Welfare Society was one of the many voices that called for the swift arrest and appropriate punishment for the animal abuser. What’s different, however, was that the organization managed to procure an interview with Fajar’s ex-girlfriend, who painted a picture that all was not right with the animal abuser even before the incident.
According to the anonymous ex-girlfriend, the abuse wasn’t limited to cats — she claims that he used to beat her (pretty badly) during the course of their relationship. Petty, trivial issues triggered Fajar’s violent temper, and the woman bore the brunt of it all.
“We hope her story draws a distinct link that animal abusers do not just abuse animals,” wrote the Cat Welfare Society. “Even when an abuser does not look like an abuser, with all the appearance of an upstanding citizen, the signs are almost always there in a history of misconduct and violence.”
“As a society, we must recognise the signs early and never ignore or tolerate abuse of any kind.”
