Boy, 13, pleads guilty to setting kitten on fire

KAJANG: A 13-year-old boy pleaded guilty in a Magistrate’s Court on Friday (May 3) to setting a kitten on fire in the parking lot of the Sri Kenari Flats in Sungai Ramal Baru here last month.

Magistrate Nik Siti Norazlini Nik Mohamed Faiz fixed June 27 for sentencing and submission of a moral report from the Social Welfare Department.

The court granted the teenager bail of RM1,000 with one surety.

The boy and two others still at large were charged with cruelty and causing pain to the animal by setting it on fire at 1.08pm on April 23.

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The charges were framed under Section 29(1)(e) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015 read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

The offence carries a fine of not less than RM20,000 and a maximum of RM100,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years, or both, upon conviction.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Nurul Afiqah Abdul Ghaffar proposed bail to be set at RM10,000 with one surety on the grounds that the case was a serious one involving cruelty to animals, and of public interest.

The teenager’s mother, 30, appealed for lower bail as she only earned RM1,500 a month and also had to support her 63-year-old mother.

Previously, CCTV footage of the incident went viral showing three males at the flat’s motorcycle parking area sprinkling what is believed to be fuel on a kitten, estimated to be six weeks old, before one of them set the cat on fire.

The Selangor Veterinary Services Department later reported that the kitten was recovering and in good condition under its care. – Bernama