S’porean man, 51, feels sorry for trapped birds, destroys Havelock Road crow cage, gets 24 days’ jail

A 51-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 24 days’ jail for toppling and damaging a National Parks Board (NParks) crow trap, resulting in four birds escaping.

He apparently felt lonely and empathised with the trapped animals.

Mohd Yusrin Bin Mohd Yusof pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief, disrupting the performance of the duty and function of a public agency on Jun. 29, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

Four other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Damage

Court proceedings revealed that NParks had engaged a wildlife pest control contractor to place a bird trap on a grass patch near Block 51 Havelock Road between Mar. 1 and 7 to trap crows.

This was part of NParks' efforts to manage the population of bird species such as crows.

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, on Mar. 2 at about 12:38am, Yusrin used a rock to break the number lock securing the bird trap, resulting in the escape of three birds.

He was on bail at the time of the offence.

On the same morning, the pest control contractor sent personnel to inspect the trap and replace the broken lock.

However, at about 10:59pm, Yusrin returned to the bird trap and toppled it with his hands, causing a bird to escape.

He also caused approximately S$4,000 in damages, which included the cost of the cage’s repair and S$100 reward bounty for each bird.

Empathised

The prosecution argued that Yusrin’s actions obstructed the duties of government agencies and could potentially have serious consequences, requesting a custodial sentence.

Yusrin also admitted he damaged the bird cage as he wanted to release the trapped birds, claiming they were pitiful.

In mitigation, he claimed he could empathise with the trapped birds, citing that he had no friends and apparently felt lonely.

In sentencing, the judge noted the offence’s severity.

He also acknowledged Yusrin’s rationale for damaging the bird traps.

"As a community, we need to exercise control over certain things. You cannot let compassion override reason and disregard what you can or cannot do," the judge reportedly said.