Woman convicted of animal cruelty for killing family pet dog during brief psychotic disorder

Suffering from Brief Psychotic Disorder, a 25-year-old Chinese national assaulted her family’s pet dog Junior during a moment of mental instability, killing the helpless animal in their Kim Pong Road flat. 

Wang Jun has since been convicted of animal cruelty for killing the eight-year-old West Highland Terrier, Channel NewsAsia reports. Claiming that she heard aeroplanes in the morning of Aug 30, Wang feared that they would “drop bombs” on her if Junior continued to bark. She climbed into Junior’s pen wielding an umbrella — an unusual behaviour that was noticed by her mother-in-law, who decided to record what was happening. 

Little did she know that things would escalate horribly. In Wang’s attempt to stop Junior from barking, she sat on the dog, beat its neck and strangled it. The dog was released only when Wang realised it was foaming at the mouth, but it was too late — Junior died from the attack. Wang’s mother-in-law called the police to the flat while witnessing the assault. 

In court, it was revealed that officers who responded to the scene observed Wang to be “in a daze when questioned”, she “appeared to be mentally unstable” and spoke incoherently.

A psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) diagnosed her with Brief Psychotic Disorder. 

The prosecution called for a Mandatory Treatment Order for Wang to receive treatment for her mental disorder for up to two years at IMH. Sentencing will be revealed on Dec 29 pending an assessment report.



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