[Photo: Two of the three kittens were found in a brown box at the void deck of Block 236, Serangoon Avenue 2.]

By Geraldine Yeo

SHE was walking home from a nearby provision shop when she heard a loud bang and saw a brown box at the bottom of her HDB block.

Squatting beside the box was her 11-year-old brother and his friend.

Panicking, Miss Siti Norsiah, 25, ran towards her brother as she thought he had been hit by the box.

Her brother, Haziq Nazim, 11, was fine.

But the three kittens inside the brown box were not.

Miss Siti, a receptionist, said of her shock find: "The three kittens looked like they were breathing very heavily."

This was the original condition that the kittens were found in. Items in the box, according to Miss Siti Norsiah, included cat food in a plastic bag and a container of dog food among other things. One of the three kittens was severely paralysed.

The box containing the cats is believed to have been thrown down from Block 236 at Serangoon Avenue 2 last Saturday afternoon.

One kitten suffered serious injuries and had to be put down later, Ms Deirdre Moss, the executive officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) told The New Paper.

Another cat had a fractured leg, while the third appeared to have escaped unhurt.

The SPCA put up a post on its Facebook page on Monday to appeal for information.

The society and the Cat Welfare Society are offering a $2,000 reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the culprit.

Miss Siti said that after she saw the box, she scanned the units above the block to see if she could spot the culprit but could not see anyone.

As a cat lover, her first instinct was to close the lid of the box as she was afraid to see the felines die.

She then called the police.

"My brother later told me that when he first opened the box, the cats sounded like they were crying," she said.

The box, which appeared to be new, was in an upright position when the two boys found it.

Inside was a plastic bag of cat food, a container of dog food, a yellow sponge, and a cloth.

The SPCA suspects that the box had fallen several storeys to the ground.

Ms Moss said: "Our SPCA vet examined the kittens and one of them was found with severe paralysis, cervical lesion and had breathing difficulties. It had to be euthanised as it was suffering and in severe pain.

"It would be pointing towards a case of abuse and we are hoping that witnesses can come forward if they could shed light on this case."