A part-time surveyor was charged at the Sessions Court today for allegedly neglecting 36 cats, causing severe starvation and the death of 41 animals in an apartment unit in Subang Jaya last March.
Lee Reo Jin, 49, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Judge Noor Ruzilawati Mohd Nor. She was accused of failing to provide proper care for 36 live cats, leaving them in conditions that caused unnecessary suffering due to starvation.
The charge falls under the Animal Welfare Act 2015, which carries penalties of a fine between RM20,000 and RM100,000, imprisonment of up to three years, or both upon conviction.
In a separate charge, she was also accused as the owner responsible for the deaths of 41 cats at the same location and time, facing similar legal provisions under the same Act.
The prosecution proposed bail of RM20,000 with additional conditions, including surrender of her passport. However, the accused, who was unrepresented, requested a lower bail, saying she had no fixed income.
The court allowed bail at RM10,000 with one surety and ordered her passport to be surrendered. The case has been fixed for mention on 7 August for the appointment of counsel.
