S1E55: Inside an animal abuser’s mind: What drives such cruelty & why some say the penalties aren’t enough

Jun 10, 2025

38:45

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Four cat deaths recently have re-ignited calls for tougher enforcement against animal abusers.

Synopsis: Every second Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests.

Just before the crack of dawn in early May, the mutilated carcass of a community cat was discovered on a road in Yishun.

In the days that followed, three more cats were reported to have been seriously injured or found dead in housing estates around Singapore, stoking fears of animal abusers at large.

While three of the cases have since been attributed to road traffic accidents rather than deliberate acts of cruelty, they have re-ignited calls for tougher enforcement against animal abusers.

In this episode, correspondent Ang Qing unpacks the psyche of an animal abuser in Singapore with psychiatrist Lim Boon Leng and criminal lawyer Josephus Tan.

They discuss the gaps in Singapore’s animal protection system, how to fix them, as well as why society’s failure to protect vulnerable creatures can have worrying consequences for the nation as a whole.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:45 Inside an animal abuser’s mind

5:29 Understanding psychopathy and spotting red flags

10:19 Gaps in enforcement and how criminals exploit them

15:30 Do some abusers have a sadistic desire to get caught?

18:58 What animal abuse says about Singapore and its people

24:06 Can tougher laws and caning make a difference

32:59 What the ordinary citizen should or shouldn’t do

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Host: Ang Qing (aqing@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong