An elderly man caught on camera allegedly kicking a cat in Marsiling on July 13 is currently under investigation.

Officers from the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), a cluster of the National Parks Board (NParks), conducted ground investigations after receiving feedback from the public about the incident.

A one-minute video was posted on Facebook a day after the incident allegedly happened.

The video, shot by a cat feeder in the area, showed the elderly man kicking a cat to his right as he walked under a sheltered walkway, causing the cat to run away.

The cat was believed to have been feeding at that time.

The incident took place at Marsiling Lane around the vicinity of blocks 10 to 16.

Surveillance conducted on the ground

AVS officers subsequently conducted surveillance in the vicinity of the incident, including interviewing eyewitnesses, AVS said in an update to the incident.

Its officers also worked with the feedback provider to gather information and follow up on leads.

AVS said in its statement to Mothership.sg: "We have since interviewed the suspect, who is currently under investigation for animal cruelty under the Animals and Birds Act."

AVS also said it "takes all feedback received from the public on animal cruelty seriously".

The man's age was not revealed, but initial eyewitness account claimed he looked to be in this 50s or 60s, and was a familiar face in the area.

Cat doing fine

AVS added in its statement: "We were concerned when alerted to the alleged case of cruelty towards the community cat and our officers immediately went to work on locating and identifying the suspect."

According to AVS, the cat in the video "is doing fine".

AVS personnel are in touch with the cat's feeder.

Elderly man allegedly changed his appearance

The original Facebook post that called out the elderly man's actions also provided updates on the case on July 20.

Adding on to the original post, it said the man had allegedly changed his appearance following the incident, by cutting off his hair to become bald.

The post also revealed that the feeder, who shot the original video of the elderly man, has been chided by some members of the public, as the video quality is not high and the man's features are not clear.

The post explained that the video's poor quality was the consequence of the feeder using a lower-end model of mobile phone.

How to report acts of animal cruelty

Members of public who come across suspected incidents of animal cruelty can alert AVS via the online feedback form on the website at www.avs.gov.sg/feedback or contact their Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.

All photographic and/ or videographic evidence provided by the public will help in investigations.

Information shared with AVS will be kept strictly confidential.

Anyone found guilty of animal cruelty can be fined up to S$15,000 and/ or jailed up to 18 months, or both.