'Senseless act of cruelty': Former nurse in Singapore accused of strangling kitten in Bali with cable tie

Imagine taking care of a kitten for six weeks, only to discover its lifeless body stuffed into a plastic bag. 

That's the grisly discovery some staff at Bali resort Utama Villa Tulamben made on June 6. 

On Thursday (June 15), the resort took to Facebook to share more details about the morbid incident. 

They revealed that the six-week-old kitten they adopted, Monkey, was found dead in a yellow Prime Supermarket plastic bag that had been thrown over the resort's boundary wall. 

Prime Supermarket is a family-owned supermarket chain from Singapore. 

A cable tie had also been tightened around the kitten's fragile neck, suggesting that it had been strangled to death. 

"This senseless act of cruelty has left us devastated," the resort said. 

He claimed kitten ran away

The resort said that based off CTV footage, a Singaporean guest was caught looking for Monkey at midnight, 1.30am, 1.50am and 2.10am on June 5.

Later on at 10.30am, the 31-year-old "forcefully" took the kitten from the resort's closed office.

When the resort found out that the guest was allegedly the culprit, they confronted him.

The man initially denied taking the kitten, up until the staff showed him a screengrab of the CCTV footage. 

While the man finally admitted to taking the kitten, he claimed the kitten ran away and he was looking for her around the premises. 

"This was, however, not captured on any of our 12 CCTV cameras," the resort said. 

"While we lack actual footage of him killing the kitten, our cameras did capture suspicious moments." 

For instance, at 10:43am on June 5, two CCTV cameras recorded a yellow bag thrown out from the man's bedroom. No other individuals were present in the vicinity where the bag was thrown. 

However, the resort said they can't do anything about this. 

"We acknowledge that without conclusive evidence, we cannot convict him," they explained.

"However, the available CCTV footages and his actions (trespassing and lying) raises serious concerns about his integrity and ethical character." 

Man was a former nurse in Singapore

The resort shared that the man was a registered nurse in Singapore who had worked in public hospitals there. 

"It is deeply unsettling to think that someone entrusted with the care of others could also exhibit such callousness and cruelty towards animals," they said. 

"Animal cruelty and abuse should never be tolerated, especially so from those within our esteemed caregiving services." 

The resort added that his behaviour raises concerns about his psychological well-being. 

"If he is capable of committing such heinous acts against a defenceless creature, we cannot imagine what else he is capable of." 

Apart from being a nurse, the man holds the title of a Divemaster, which means that he assists instructors with classes and leads certified divers underwater, said the resort.

The resort's dive guide also said he had his own share of "troubling" experiences with the man as well, which has raised "legitimate concerns" about the well-being and safety of those under his supervision. 

"Therefore, we urge you to treat this incident as a warning. The integrity and ethical character of this individual are questionable and we advise exercising caution when interacting with him." 

AsiaOne has reached out to Utama Villa Tulamben for more details. 

ALSO READ: Police find cats abandoned in rubbish-filled home

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