April 17, 2018, 11:31 AM 
On the night of April 14, a cat was found lying lifelessly along Upper Bukit Timah Road towards Clementi.
via John Goh's Facebook page
Coincidentally, a car license plate was found at the accident site, which led to some to believe the vehicle the license plate belongs to was involved in the hit-and-run.
via John Goh's Facebook page
SPCA alerted
Speaking to Mothership, a representative from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shared that they were alerted to the accident at 11.45pm.
"Unfortunately, the cat had passed on by the time we arrived."
According to Goh, a police report was lodged.
Angry reactions
Evidently, many people left angry comments directed towards the license plate's vehicle's owner, despite the uncertainty of the involvement of the car owner.
Meanwhile, another group of people brought up the fact that nothing much can be done to seek justice for the cat because of the Road Traffic Act.
Technically not illegal
According to the Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to not stop and help the animal after an accident. Failure to do so could result in a S$3,000 fine or a jail term of up to a year.
However, "animal", in this case, is only specified as any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog.
Cats, monkeys, birds and wild boars, unfortunately, does not fall under this list.
According to a Channel NewsAsia report from May 2016, former Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Lee said that "the original intent of the Road Traffic Act was targeted for animals of commercial value, to ensure restitution to their owners should an accident occur".
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What to do when you accidentally hit an animal
These are the guidelines laid out by SPCA:
1. Stop your car safely.
2. Stay at the scene.
3. Contact the SPCA at 62875355 ext. 9.
4. If you intend on approaching the animal:
– Be aware of your surroundings – watch out for other cars or anything else that might put you or anyone else in danger.
– If you’re approaching an injured animal, be very careful. It will probably be very scared and might try to bite or scratch you in fear.
– If you realise you have hit someone’s pet, you may want to see if you can locate its tag to access the contact details of its owner.
Top image via John Goh's Facebook page
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