Man set neighbour's Persian cat on fire

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Man set neighbour's Persian cat on fire
Retiree fined $3,000 for harming tabby that defecated outside flat

Published on Apr 25, 2012

Madam Salmah's husband Zainulddin Ismail with their cat Ricco. He said that although Ricco has recovered, it has lost the tip of its ears and eyelids. -- ST PHOTOS: CHEW SENG KIM, CAROLINE CHIA

By Khushwant Singh & Siau Ming En

A 78-year-old man was fined $3,000 on Tuesday for setting his neighbour's Persian tabby on fire.

Chua Tuang Seng was also ordered by a district court to pay $1,235 to the cat's owner as compensation for its treatment and hospitalisation.

The eight-year-old tabby, named Ricco, survived the attack.

The retiree had pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the cat belonging to Madam Salmah Mohd Aris.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

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Man sets neighbour's cat on fire

Left: Ricco before it was burnt. Right: Ricco after it was burnt

By Shaffiq Alkhatib & Eunice Toh

The New Paper
Friday, Apr 27, 2012

It now sleeps with its eyes open and only a quarter of its ears remain.

The cat's eyelids and most of its ears had been burnt off after its owner's neighbour poured kerosene on it and set it alight.

Retiree Chua Tuang Seng, 78, was yesterday fined $3,000 after pleading guilty to one count of animal cruelty.

Due to its injuries, the cat, Ricco, had to be hospitalised for four days at the Mt Pleasant Veterinary.

Its owner, Madam Salman Mohd Aris, 49, had to foot the bill, which came up to $1,235.

On top of the fine, Community Court judge Ng Peng Hong also ordered Chua to fully compensate Madam Salman for the costs incurred for Ricco's treatment.

The court heard that Chua was squirting kerosene around his potted plants at around 1pm on Sept 3 last year to prevent ants from coming near, when he spotted Ricco hiding among the foliage.

Chua, who lives in a unit at Block 234, Pasir Ris Drive, recognised it as the cat that had been defecating outside his home.

Mr Yap Teck Chuan, who is the prosecuting officer for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, told the court that Chua tried to chase Ricco away, but it ran and hid below a metal shelf.

Chua then squirted kerosene onto Ricco to chase it away, but it remained.

He then tore a part of a newspaper, lit it and threw it at the cat.

As a result, Ricco became badly burnt.

The cat was later found by the owner's sister.

It was hiding in a corner of a row of potted plants outside Chua's flat with its face, neck and back burnt.

Madam Salman, a secretary, said that she received "the shock of her life" when she first laid eyes on the injured cat.

"My first sentence was, 'That's not my cat!' I couldn't recognise it at all.

"Someone had burnt my cat! It's something I'd never expected."

Her husband, Mr Zainuddin Ismail, 50, a company driver, said he was at work when his wife told him about the incident.

He recalled that a vet had told them that Ricco's chances of survival were not very high.

"My daughter cried the whole night. We were all heartbroken. But he's a fighter. We just prayed and hoped for the best."

Thankfully, the eight-year-old cat, described by Mr Zainuddin as a member of the family, survived.

The brown Persian cat was given to the family when it was just eight months old.

Mr Zainuddin said: "He's a part of our family. He's like one of our kids. And now, he's totally different."

He said that Ricco now often wakes up in the middle of the night.

It is also terrified of people, he added.

TNP spoke to Chua's son, who said it was the owners' responsibility to keep their pets at home.

"I wish they had come and talked to us first. But they went to call the police directly."

Those convicted of animal cruelty could be jailed up to a year and fined a maximum of $10,000.

 

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[video=youtube;ChzrNlR6HA0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChzrNlR6HA0[/video]