KUALA LUMPUR: The "tenant from hell" deemed to be behind the discoveries of the carcasses of more than 20 cats was charged and sentenced at Sessions Court, here, this morning.
Lim Chia Lin, 31, who hails from Sarawak and had rented a unit at Bayu Tasik Condominium, in Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Cheras, pleaded guilty to one count of neglecting his five pet cats between June 14 and July 3 last year by not providing food or water to them, leading to their death.
The charge, framed under Section 29(1)(D) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015, was read to him before Sessions Court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.
Under the section, punishable under Section 29(1) of the same act, he was liable to three years' imprisonment or a fine between RM20,000 and RM100,000 or both.
Siti Aminah sentenced him to two years' imprisonment and a RM50,000 fine, in default another year in jail.
According to the facts of the case, the accused's landlord first discovered the cat's carcasses placed in a cage, near the door of the apartment when he went to the unit on March 11, around 4pm.
The landlord, who is also the complainant in the case, went to the unit after receiving complaints from nearby residents of a stench emanating from the house.
He asked about the carcasses and advised the accused to get rid of them.
He then went to the unit again two days later with a security guard and the building manager to ask for the accused's one-month outstanding rent amounting to RM1,400.
The trio found the cage in the same place and went into the house after knocking on the door without answer, and found out that the doors were not locked.
They then found Lim sleeping in his room.
Today, after pleading guilty, the accused, who works as a promoter with a RM1,500 monthly salary quickly appealed by saying that there was a barrel filled with marinated chicken in the said unit and that had caused the stench.
However, the judge was quick to respond by saying that the accused had pleaded guilty to causing the cat's death and that he can only appeal against the sentence.
Lim, who was unrepresented, then pleaded for a lighter sentence.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Ahmad Hakimi Wan Ahmad Jaafar suggested the court order a custodial sentence as a warning to society to never neglect their pets.
He also submitted that the situation involving the carcasses found in the unit had garnered a lot of public attention.
"The accused had neglected the cats, by not giving any food or drinks to the cats for one month when he left for Sarawak in June last year.
"This caused the cats to starve to death. If he wants to leave them (the cats) for a long time, he should provide food, drinks, and a comfortable place for the cats to live in before he went away, instead of leaving them high and dry, and without the slightest mercy.
"The accused also did not take any proactive measures to bury the cats' remains and let them rot in the house.
"Therefore, I plead for the court to consider sentencing in the form of imprisonment so that he can repent and also as a lesson to the public to not to neglect their responsibilities as human beings in protecting animals."