I hope it did not suffer

I learnt from Dawn's blog that another kitten was brutally killed and carved up yesterday. It's sad to learn that there are bastards out there who would kill for fun. (Do not click the link if you cannot take gory pictures.)

And this is not the first case to have happened in Singapore this year. Although I am sure there were multiple abuse cases not reported, this one stood out. If I remember correctly, Hooi was jailed a measely 3 months out of a maximum of 12 months. And when he was out of prison, he tortured another cat so bad that it had to be put down immediately.

A fellow cat blogger adopted a kitten which was once abused by school kids this year. They poured a hot drink onto it. I do not know what punishment had been melted, but I am sure it is less painful than a hot drink poured on their naked flesh.

I would have to say that the majority of Singaporeans do not detest animals. Even if they may not like dogs/cats/hamsters/rabbits/name your animal here, they would not abuse them. And I am sure this applies to most countries. But it is the minority few who are causing such unnecessary pain to a defenseless animal, in the name of thrill and fun.

What is the Singapore legal system coming to? Do we have the laws to prosecute? As someone outside the legal fraternity, I think so. But are we bringing down the full force of these laws on the criminals? In my view, clearly not. Take the case of Hooi, the kitten abuser. 3 months out of a maximum 12-month sentence. Then with no supervision and a few months later, oops, he was caught abusing another kitten again. And who know how many he had already abused before he was arrested. This time round, I do not know how many less months he would be locked up again. Clearly, the law is sending out wrong signals to would-be animal abusers. If the abused had been a 2 year old toddler, do you think Hooi would have been let off so easily? Do you think there will be no uproar in this tiny country? Your guess is as good as mine.

Lots of people would argue that you cannot compare an animal to a child. Probably true. But I can also tell you that animals behave much better than most 2-legged homo sapiens. We need to melt the heaviest sentences, however inadequate they may be on their own, on these animal abusers. And we need those who have witnessed such crimes to testify as witnesses. To put these abusers locked up for a good period of time. And hopegfully with professional supervision and/or medical treatment, they will not abuse any animal or human again.

I eat meat though not a lot. But I am not a vegetarian. If pushed to the extreme, I will kill for food but will not for thrill and adventure. Does that make me an animal lover? Does that qualify me, an omnivore, to even despise these bastards who torture and kill for fun? I believe it is justified and that I can put up this post.