‘I have no friends’: Man who freed trapped crows out of sympathy ends up behind bars in Singapore

SINGAPORE, June 30 — A lonely Singaporean man who told a court he felt sorry for caged crows because he had “no friends” has been jailed after twice vandalising an NParks bird trap to set the birds free.

According to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, 51-year-old Mohd Yusrin Bin Mohd Yusof was sentenced to 24 days’ jail after pleading guilty to one count of mischief for disrupting the duties of a public agency. Four other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The unusual case centred on an NParks crow trap placed on a grass verge near Block 51 Havelock Road between March 1 and 7 as part of efforts to control the population of pest birds.

Court proceedings heard that shortly after midnight on March 2, Yusrin used a rock to smash the number lock securing the cage, allowing three trapped birds to escape.

The incident did not stop there.

After wildlife pest control workers inspected the trap and replaced the damaged lock later that day, Yusrin returned at about 10.59pm and toppled the cage with his hands, freeing another bird.

The damage bill totalled about S$4,000 (RM12,500), covering repairs to the trap and bounty payments of S$100 for each escaped crow.

Prosecutors argued that Yusrin’s actions interfered with the work of a government agency and had the potential to cause wider consequences, urging the court to impose a custodial sentence.

Yusrin admitted he deliberately damaged the trap because he believed the birds were suffering and wanted to release them.

In mitigation, he said he empathised with the trapped crows because he was lonely and had no friends.

The judge acknowledged Yusrin’s motivation but said sympathy alone could not justify breaking the law.

“As a community, we need to exercise control over certain things. You cannot let compassion override reason and disregard what you can or cannot do,” the judge reportedly said.

Charge sheets seen by Singapore-based media company Mothership showed Yusrin was already out on bail when he damaged the trap.