A 30-year-old Singaporean man Rico Wong Wei Wei was sentenced to a jail term of three years, six months, and 10 weeks for multiple offences which included robbery and animal cruelty, according to CNA.
Wong pleaded guilty to three charges on Oct. 22 after throwing a kitten to death, threatening his wife, and robbing a 17-year-old student with a karambit knife on a bus, CNA reported.
He was also given six strokes of the cane and was barred from owning pets for a year, Yahoo reported.
Threw kitten against the wall after a fight with wife
According to court documents seen by Mothership, Wong had a dispute with his wife over financial issues at around 3am on May. 4, 2019.
Wong then returned to his room while his wife remained in the living room.
In his room, a two-month-old grey kitten that he previously brought home from the street approached Wong.
Wong was annoyed and lost his temper.
He threw the kitten against a cupboard in the living room, causing the kitten's head to bleed.
Kitten thrown on the floor, blaming his wife for it
Wong later picked up the kitten and said to his wife, "Look at this, because of you".
He then threw the kitten again on the floor in front of his wife and its blood spattered on the floor, according to court documents.
Wong said to his wife, "If I can do this, you, I don't care."
Wong's wife was frightened by what Wong did to the kitten.
Wong subsequently picked the motionless kitten up and threw it into the kitchen rubbish bin.
The next day Wong threw the rubbish bag, with the kitten in it, into the rubbish chute from the flat's 11th floor.
Police reports made against Wong for violence and animal cruelty
Wong's violent act towards the kitten has scarred his wife so much that she could not sleep that night. She brought her children to her mother's house the next day.
The wife also lodged a police report at Yishun North Neighbourhood Police Centre at 11:51am on May. 4, 2019.
According to court documents, she has obtained a personal protection order against Wong on Jan. 22, 2018, so that Wong is restrained from using violence against her.
On Jun. 20, 2019, an officer from the Animal and Veterinary Services of the National Parks Board also lodged a complaint under section 153(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code against Wong, after receiving feedback on a case of cruelty against a kitten.
Robbed a 17-year-old student on the bus
Separately, Wong has been charged for robbing a 17-year-old student in June 2019.
According to the court documents, a 17-year-old student was robbed on bus 856 along Yishun Avenue 5 at around 3pm on Jun. 25, 2019.
The student was using his Apple iPhone XR on the bus and Wong, who was seated nearby, saw him using his phone.
Wong then went to sit next to the victim and took out a black karambit knife from his pants' pocket to threaten the victim to give him the phone.
There were other passengers around at that time so Wong tried to conceal the knife but made sure that the victim saw its blade.
The 17-year-old said that he had information on the phone that he did not want to lose so he asked if he could give Wong money instead.
Wong demanded S$1,000 in cash and asked the victim to hand over the phone first.
The duo then went to an ATM together but, due to the withdrawal limit, the victim was only able to take out S$500 for Wong.
As such, Wong refused to return the victim his phone and took the S$500.
Wong sold the phone at a secondhand handphone shop in Yishun and received S$720 in cash.
At around 7:50pm that same day, the victim made a police report against Wong.
Prosecutor asked for heavier sentence
The prosecutor had asked for a heavier sentence of four years and 10 weeks' jail and six strokes of the cane.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Daniel Ling stated that Wong is a "recalcitrant offender".
The offence of robbery with a deadly weapon carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years' jail and six strokes of the cane.
Despite the increasingly heavy sentence given to Wong in the past, he continued to commit similar offences.
He also caused significant fear to his wife despite the PPO filed against him.
Given the growing public sentiment about animal welfare in Singapore, there is also a need to ensure a more effective deterrence against animal cruelty, the prosecutor added.
However, the defence lawyer said that Wong was "profoundly remorseful".
He added that Wong's wife is "committed to supporting him through this difficult period", CNA reported.
Wong's wife had reconciled with him and was present in court, Yahoo reported.
Top photo by Matthias Ang