Man hurls cat from sixth storey, slams it to the ground to kill it

A food and beverage captain killed a cat because he was frustrated that cats did not want to be near him.

On May 26, 2016, Fajar Ashraf Fajar Ali, 25, used cat food to lure the female shorthair cat into a lift at Block 884 Tampines Street 83 while looking for cats to play with.

He took the lift to the sixth storey, then hurled the cat from a staircase landing, a court heard yesterday.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Soh Weiqi said Ashraf went downstairs and found it still alive.

He picked it up and slammed it to the ground twice till it died.

Ashraf told investigators he had committed the acts as he was frustrated that cats did not want to be near him.

A resident at Block 885 heard noises coming from the opposite block at about 2.30am and saw Ashraf slamming the cat to the ground twice.

The 57-year-old woman rushed there and saw the cat lying motionless before calling the police.

Ashraf was arrested five days later after police identified him through CCTV footage.

He pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges of animal cruelty.

DPP Soh called for a sentence of five months' jail to be imposed on each charge, saying his acts were reprehensible.

She said there was no indication Ashraf had any mental problem when he committed the offences.

"In this case, he showed total disregard for an animal which was not able to protect itself," she added.

Ashraf's lawyer Amarjit Singh, urged District Judge May Mesenas to call for a mandatory treatment order (MTO) suitability report to assess his client's state of mind.

He said he had been instructed by Ashraf's parents he had been depressed in the days before the offence.

Sentencing was adjourned to March 6, pending an MTO suitability report.

Ashraf can be fined up to $15,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months on each charge of ill-treating an animal.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.