SINGAPORE: A man who subjected five community cats to brutal abuse in Ang Mo Kio had his jail sentence increased from 14 months to two years and three months on Wednesday (9 July), following a successful appeal by the prosecution for a harsher punishment.
Barrie Lin Pengli, 33, had admitted to abusing cats whenever he felt troubled or emotionally distressed.
He would roam Ang Mo Kio housing estates — areas known to have a higher presence of community cats — seeking out animals to harm.
What began as kicking escalated into more sinister acts.
Lin abducted cats in small waterproof bags with poor air circulation, before either releasing them elsewhere or killing them.
In two separate instances, he threw cats off high-rise Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks, and in one case, stamped on a cat while it was still alive on the ground.
High Court Judge Vincent Hoong ruled that the original sentence imposed by the lower court was “overly lenient” and based on unreported precedents at the lower end of the sentencing range.
He said the district judge had given undue weight to Lin’s major depressive disorder as a mitigating factor.
“Animal cruelty has no place in a just and humane society and will be met with the full force of the law,” he remarked.
The judge also noted that Lin had inflicted violence against defenceless animals “for his perverse pleasure”, describing it as “among the most heinous cases of animal cruelty that have come before our courts”.
Prosecution: ‘A Cruel and Heinous Case’
The prosecution had originally sought a 24-month jail term when Lin pleaded guilty in October last year to three charges of animal cruelty, with another two taken into consideration.
The district judge sentenced him to 14 months, citing his mental health condition.
Second Chief Prosecutor Isaac Tan described the case as “cruel” and “heinous”, arguing that the district court had erred in placing excessive emphasis on Lin’s diagnosis.
“A mental condition cannot be a licence to harm others,” he said.
“The sentence imposed, 14 months’ jail, is not one that advances the public interest.”
Tan stressed the importance of sending a strong message to deter similar acts of cruelty, especially amid rising cases of animal abuse.
He said the cats were “subjected to cruelty, tortured, killed” and maimed for the offender’s “depraved satisfaction”.
“This is an opportunity to lay down a marker on societal standards,” he added, emphasising that animals, though voiceless, are sentient beings capable of suffering.
Debate Over Mental Illness and Sentencing
Lin’s defence counsel, Azri Imran Tan from IRB Law, maintained that the original sentence was “fair and just”, as Lin had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder by two psychiatrists for four of the five offences.
He also objected to the structure of the sentencing, arguing that no more than two of the terms should run consecutively, and that the total sentence should not exceed 14 months.
He acknowledged that Lin’s actions were “reprehensible” and had sparked significant public outrage.
However, Azri argued that sentencing should not be swayed by emotional reactions or public opinion.
“My client’s psychiatric condition affected his ability to control his impulses. His behaviour was out of character,” he said.
In response, the prosecutor argued that by the time of the fifth offence, Lin was no longer affected by his mental condition.
“The fifth offence exposes his cruelty,” he said, noting that it reflected calculated and repeated behaviour.
Both sides referred to the case of Yeo Poh Kwee, who received the maximum 18-month jail term for animal cruelty after dragging his dog down 20 flights of stairs until it died.
The defence argued that the Yeo case was more extreme.
“How is dropping cats from heights and slamming a cat against a wall… comparable with running with a dog on a leash down 19 floors of steps at speed, hitting the dog over and over till it dies?” asked Azri.
He compared it to degrees of dangerous driving — while running a red light was “bad”, it was different from driving against traffic and colliding with other vehicles.
Judge: Violence Was Deliberate and Methodical
Justice Hoong rejected the argument that the Yeo case was an outlier, deeming both cases comparable due to the deliberate infliction of violence on domesticated animals.
He described the suffering inflicted by Lin as “extremely grave”, pointing out that two cats were killed in a “violent and gruesome manner”.
One cat, in particular, suffered severe blunt force trauma after being stamped on while still alive.
The judge concluded that Lin’s actions represented the “quintessence of animal cruelty”, as the violence was not accidental but intentional.
He said inflicting pain and suffering on the animals was the very point of Lin’s conduct.
While acknowledging Lin’s mental condition, Justice Hoong found that he was aware of his actions and capable of self-control.
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