Singapore man’s jail term for throwing cats from flats doubled on appeal
The judge ruled his original sentence was too lenient given the ‘gruesome’ nature of his actions
Barrie Lin Pengli, 33, will now serve 27 months in prison – up from the original 14-month sentence handed down earlier this year – following a successful appeal by prosecutors who argued that the case warranted a far harsher penalty.
Lin had pleaded guilty in October to three counts of animal cruelty, with two additional charges taken into consideration. His offences, committed in the Ang Mo Kio housing estate between late 2019 and 2021, included suffocating cats in sealed bags, kicking them, and throwing two from high-rise public housing blocks. One cat was also stomped on while still alive.
At his initial sentencing in February, a district court judge cited Lin’s diagnosed depression and lack of re-offending since 2021 as mitigating factors. The court also imposed a one-year ban on animal ownership.
But prosecutors challenged the ruling, describing Lin’s actions as “heinous” and “cruel”, and arguing that the sentence failed to reflect the severity of the case.
“A mental condition cannot be a licence to harm others,” Second Chief Prosecutor Isaac Tan told the court, as quoted by CNA. “We need to send out a clear signal that animal abuse, particularly cases of repeated and heinous abuse to animals, will be [given] substantial terms of imprisonment.”