Man who abandoned 71 cats in Bukit Panjang flat given 16 weeks' jail

SINGAPORE: A man who abandoned dozens of cats in his flat for almost two years, resulting in the death of nine of them, was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail on Wednesday (Sep 23).

Muhammad Khairul Naim Zainol, 37, was also disqualified from owning animals for 12 months, according to the National Parks Board (NParks).

He pleaded guilty to 24 charges of permitting unnecessary pain and suffering to the cats under the Animals and Birds Act. Another 47 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

"BRED UNCONTROLLABLY"

In March 2018, he bought a Housing Board flat in Block 469 along Segar Road in Bukit Panjang with his then-wife, Nurul Nadiah Noor Mohamed, who is a co-accused in the case. At the time, they did not own any cats.

From early 2019, the pair acquired several cats which, being unsterilised, "bred uncontrollably", court documents stated. Despite their attempts at rehoming the cats, the number of cats in the unit continued to grow.

Sometime around April 2022, the pair moved out of the unit to live with the man's parents in what was intended to be a temporary arrangement but later became long-term.

A few months after they moved out, they realised the power and water supply to the unit had been cut off due to outstanding utility bills.

Muhammad Khairul claimed to have returned daily to leave dry pet food and water, but as it became increasingly difficult to enter the unit, he resorted to placing food and water at the doorstep instead.

He said he last entered the unit sometime in December 2023 and also revisited the flat on Feb 20, 2024, to place dry food at the doorstep.

DECOMPOSING CARCASSES

That morning, the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) received feedback about a cat found on the unit's air-conditioning ledge. The cat, which was skinny and in distress, was rescued by neighbours living one floor below before being taken to a veterinary clinic.

AVS officers went to the flat that afternoon, where police officers were already present after receiving a separate call about a smell coming from the unit.

During the joint inspection, the AVS officers found 61 live cats, three cat carcasses, six skulls and one bag of skeletal remains - identified as those of at least six cats - inside the unit. 

Together with the cat rescued from the air-conditioning ledge, a total of 62 live cats were recovered. Muhammad Khairul admitted that he owned all the cats and surrendered them to AVS.

The unit was found to be in a "severely poor and unsanitary condition" with the floor and furniture caked in excreta and dirt, while faecal material was also littered throughout the flat, according to court documents.

The unit also contained decomposing carcasses; cobwebs on window grills, walls, and ceilings; and pests, including cockroaches and flies.

While several windows were open, ventilation was poor and a strong ammonia odour was present, likely due to the build-up of organic material and excreta. Some windows were also not meshed and left open, posing a fall hazard to the cats.

The AVS officers noticed dry pet food left on the floor near the unit entrance and no fresh water supply inside. Muhammad Khairul claimed he had provided one small container of water daily.

In one photo taken during the seizure, a cat was seen drinking from a toilet bowl. The officers noted pooling dirty brown water on the toilet floor, likely contaminated with faecal matter.

There were also a few cats roaming freely in the unit, with several of them hiding under a mattress or curtains.

CATS EMACIATED, DEHYDRATED

An NParks veterinary report found that all 61 cats had experienced pain and suffering.

Most of the cats assessed had a body condition score indicating they were either very thin or thin, while nine were emaciated.

One representative cat gained 45 per cent of its body weight over five-and-a-half weeks after it was given a normal daily ration, eventually reaching an ideal body condition score.

"The large number of cats housed in a small space meant that the cats were required to compete for the limited available critical resources, including food and water," read the court's statement of facts.

The veterinary findings deemed that the food provided was wholly inadequate for the number of cats present and almost all the cats were found to be dehydrated.

"The observation of a cat drinking from a contaminated toilet bowl further demonstrates the inadequacy of the water supply and facilitates the transmission of parasites and disease through the faecal-oral route, predisposing the cats to diseases such as salmonellosis, coccidiosis, and giardiasis." 

A large proportion of the cats had generalised alopecia or hair loss over their bodies, likely due to parasitic infestation, while a small number also had neurological signs and/or abnormal behaviour, likely due to low blood glucose levels.

One of the cats was pregnant and thin, and had dental disease, signs of infection or inflammation, a healing wound and severe hair loss.

Most of the cats were "skittish and unsocialised", and their forced proximity to one another would have subjected them to high levels of chronic stress, the report stated.

LEFT UNATTENDED FOR 22 MONTHS

Investigations found that Muhammad Khairul and Nurul Nadiah - as the owners of the cats - had left them unattended in severely poor living conditions for a prolonged period of about 22 months, from April 2022 until Feb 20, 2024.

"Despite claiming to have returned daily to provide food and water, the food and water provided were clearly insufficient for the number of cats present, as evidenced by the physical condition of the cats upon seizure," read the statement of facts.

Muhammad Khairul also did not enter the unit after December 2023 and was aware that it was in an unsanitary and uninhabitable condition. 

He was first charged in May alongside Nurul Nadiah. Each was handed 71 charges at the time.

For each charge of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal, an offender can be jailed for up to 18 months, fined up to S$15,000, or both.