He had been sentenced to three months in prison for similar offence earlierCAT KILLER: Hooi suffered from an anti-social disorder that made him seek out cats.
BEDOK'S serial cat abuser David Hooi Yin Weng was given the maximum one year's jail yesterday for one of the worst cases of animal abuse.
Community Court Judge Bala Reddy said this when he sentenced the unemployed man for torturing a four-month-old cat until its eyes swelled and one of its teeth broke.
Hooi was caught after a complaint from a group of cat lovers who patrolled the Bedok neighbourhood every evening in search of the man they suspected of torturing and killing the area's strays.
A few months before his arrest on June 27, Hooi was jailed three months for abusing a kitten, which had to then be put down. At the time, he had told the judge he had made a 'mistake' and would not do it again.
He picked up the second cat on the street in Bedok on June 27 and took it to his home in Block 544. He allowed the animal to roam freely around his flat, but hit it repeatedly after it urinated on his bed. That night, he took the cat to the void deck, where he was arrested. The animal also had to be put down.
When he appeared before Mr Reddy in July, the judge had called for a prison psychologist's report to see how Hooi might be treated. Hooi was found to be suffering from anti-social personality disorder, for which effective treatment is limited. His intellect was in the 'extremely low'' to 'borderline' range.
Mr Reddy said yesterday that Hooi's treatment prognosis was assessed to be poor in view of his previous convictions.
An Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist had recommended that Hooi be kept in a 'secure environment' for as long as possible as he was likely to commit the offences again. The prison psychologist had said Hooi's apparent affection for cats appeared to be a substitute for his current lack of relationships with people. 'Unfortunately, David seems to have a poor understanding and unreasonable expectations of natural animal behaviour,' the psychologist said.
'Taken together, the likelihood that David would continue to seek out cats in future is high, and there is a risk that he would continue to engage in cruel acts to a cat when it does not behave in a manner that conforms to his unrealistic expectations.'
The judge noted that Hooi's long list of criminal convictions included corrective training and detention for previous offences.
'Studies have found that those with a history of repeated acts of intentional violence towards animals are at a higher risk of exhibiting similar violence against humans in the future.'
Mr Reddy said he was particularly concerned with psychiatrist Mok Yee Ming's recommendation that Hooi be kept in a secure environment for as long as possible.
One option - to sentence him to preventive detention - was not available in this case. Preventive detention aims to protect the public from the menace of an accused who has a long history of criminal convictions and poses a safety risk to the public.
Mr Reddy said although Hooi would qualify for such a sentence, he could not be placed in preventive detention as that punishment can be invoked only if the offence carries a jail term of two years or more.
The judge suggested that after Hooi's release, animal welfare organisations may wish to constructively engage the 42-year-old in their activities and programmes to help him overcome his behaviour towards animals.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal's executive officer Ms Deirdre Moss said the society hopes to work with psychiatrists involved in Hooi's case to help him tackle his compulsion to abuse animals.
elena@sph.com.sg
TENDENCY TO SEEK OUT CATS
'The likelihood that David would continue to seek out cats in future is high, and there is a risk that he would continue to engage in cruel acts to a cat when it does not behave in a manner that conforms to his unrealistic expectations.'' REPORT FROM PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST
HIGHER RISK OF VIOLENCE
'Studies have found that those with a history of repeated acts of intentional violence towards animals are at a higher risk of exhibiting similar violence against humans in the future.'' COMMUNITY COURT JUDGE BALA REDDY, who said that although Hooi would qualify for preventive detention, that punishment could be invoked only if the offence carried a jail term of two years or more
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