KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — A salesman was sentenced to 24 months in jail and fined RM50,000, by the Sessions Court here today, for neglecting his five pet cats and starving them to death in a condominium unit.
Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali handed down the sentence on Lim Chia Lin, 31, after he pleaded guilty to the charge and also ordered the accused to serve 12 months in prison if he failed to pay the fine.
The man was charged with keeping the animals in captivity and causing them unnecessary suffering which ended with their carcasses found in a condominium unit in Bandar Seri Permaisuri, between June 14 and July 3 last year.
The charge framed under Section 29(1) (D) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015 and punishable under Section 29(1) of the law, provides a fine of between RM25,000 and RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to three years or both, upon conviction.
The accused, who was not represented appealed for a lighter sentence on the grounds that he is a bachelor earning less than RM1,500 a month.
According to the facts of the case, on March 11, the complainant who is the house owner received a complaint from a nearby resident of a stench coming from the unit that he was renting to the accused.
On checking the house, he found several cat carcasses in a cage placed outside the door.
The complainant advised the accused to remove the cage so that there would be no more complaints from residents of the condominium.
Two days later, when the complainant returned to collect rent, he found the door not locked and the accused sleeping in his room.
With the help of a security guard, the complainant inspected the house and found a carcass believed to be that of a cat and detected a foul smell in the kitchen which came from a pail filled with minced meat.
— Bernama
