SINGAPORE, Oct 13 — Whampoa residents have set up a memorial for Garfield, a beloved community cat that died on October 7, after allegedly being thrown from the 38th floor of their HDB block.
Instagram user Noreen Loh Hui Miun announced the memorial in Garfield’s favorite spot – behind the letterbox seating area at Block 78 Whampoa Dew – had received the town council’s approval, and invited the community to say their goodbyes.
“Thank you to everyone who sent us her pictures. There were so many that we could only print a few,” she wrote.
Accompanying the memorial were heartfelt tributes, including photos of the female cat nicknamed ‘Field Field”, soft toys, and flowers.
Loh shared her reluctance to post graphic images of Garfield’s body but wanted to highlight her gentle nature.
“It was reported that she was stomped on the head after being thrown,” she said in an earlier Instagram post.
An online petition has been launched in the Facebook group Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats.
User Angelina Ang called for “justice for Field Field and other cruelly-treated cats,” citing recent animal cruelty incidents.
The petition has gained over 5,000 signatures since it was set up on October 9.
In a separate report dated October 8 by The Straits Times, a 25-year-old man named Ryan Tan Yi Bin was charged with animal cruelty at a Singapore district court.
He was accused of kicking a cat, stepping on its head repeatedly in a lift and throwing it off the 38th floor at Block 78 Lorong Limau between 2am and 4am on October 7.
If found guilty, he can be punished with jail up to 18 months and fine of up to S$15,000 for first-time offenders while repeat offenders can be jailed for three years and be fined double the amount.