Online posts claim man, 22, tried to stab cats in Redhill, NParks urges public not to speculate

Photos of a man dressed in black and carrying a pink backpack have been circulating on social media, with commenters alleging that he is a cat abuser.

A video of the man walking away from the cameraperson was posted in the Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats Facebook group, accusing him of having abused cats.

Seen at Redhill

Speaking to Mothership, a person who claimed to have seen the man shared that he was spotted at Lengkok Bahru in Redhill on Aug. 20.

The woman, Lim, mentioned that she had never seen the man before, and others observed him loitering around and watching the community cats.

She also noticed him walking by as they were petting the cats at around 5:15pm.

At around 5:20pm, just after Lim and the others walked away from the cats, the man allegedly charged at the cats with a penknife.

Lim and the others shouted at him to stop and approached the man.

He then stopped and walked away.

Lim told Mothership that they have since reported the incident to NParks and filed a police report.

Lim then shared a video of the man on Facebook, warning the community.

Splashed water

On Aug. 22, Lim posted an update on Facebook that a passerby reportedly saw the same man at Block 58 Lengkok Bahru splash water at a cat to try and get it out from under a van.

The man apparently gave up and went towards a grocery store at the bottom of the block, where he allegedly tried to attack another cat with a penknife.

This happened in front of multiple people, Lim said.

According to Lim, the people shouted at the man, who then ran away.

A few men tried to follow him, but he crossed the road before they could catch up with him.

Seen at Chong Pang

Another cat feeder, Janet Chin, shared in the Facebook group that she spotted the same man with the same backpack at Chong Pang, Yishun, on Aug. 19.

She shared that she tried to get him to leave, but he refused and continued to loiter around the same area.

Chin added that the man was allegedly rough with one of the community cats at Chong Pang, prompting her to chase him away and prevent him from approaching the cats.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force confirmed that a report was lodged.

NPark's statement

National Parks Board (NParks) group director for enforcement and investigation, Jessica Kwok, said NParks has received feedback regarding the alleged attempt to harm the community cats at Lengkok Bahru.

NParks has since spoken to witnesses and visited the incident site as part of the investigations.

"There are no reports of cats harmed or injured at the location or immediate vicinity," Kwok said.

Kwok added that NParks has interviewed a 22-year-old person who attends a special needs training centre and spoke to his family about his behaviour.

NParks added:

"We urge the public to not speculate but to let investigations run its course even as the family seeks professional assistance to better counsel and monitor the youth."

Top photos via Lim/Facebook