S’pore man, 36, & woman, 32, charged for allegedly neglecting 71 cats in Bukit Panjang HDB flat

A 36-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were charged on May 6 for allegedly neglecting 71 cats in their HDB flat.

The man, Muhammad Khairul Naim Zainol, and the woman Nurul Nadiah Noor Mohamed, were accused of leaving the cats unattended without enough food and water for almost two years in a flat in Bukit Panjang, CNA reported.

Cats

According to court documents, the duo were owners of the cats, listed as "E1" to "E71".

Most of them were domestic shorthairs.

They housed them on the third floor of Block 469, Housing Development Board (HDB) unit, Segar Road in Bukit Panjang.

Unattended

Both of them apparently left the cats unattended in the vacant unit in poor living conditions from April 2022 to Feb. 20, 2024.

They were alleged to have caused and permitted unnecessary pain and suffering to the cats.

The pair was also accused of failing to provide an adequate amount of food and water for the cats daily during the period of about 22 months.

Nine cats, "E63" to "E71", died as a result of their alleged negligence.

Did not plead

They were each handed 71 charges linked to the cats.

Neither of them did not indicate how they would plead to the case.

The case was adjourned until June.

If found guilty of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal under the Animals and Birds Act, they could face a jail term of up to 18 months, a fine of up to S$15,000, or both, for each charge.

As of Sep. 1, 2024, up to two cats are allowed in each HDB flat.