Vietnamese stepmum beats stepdaughter's parrot to death with bamboo pole

Upset after getting bitten by her stepdaughter's parrot, a woman killed the bird using a bamboo pole before tossing its body down a rubbish chute. 

The 39-year-old Vietnamese national, Tran Thi Thuy Hang, pleaded guilty in the State Courts on Wednesday (July 25). Her sentence will be delivered the following Wednesday (Aug 1) and she could be jailed for at least one week, reports Lianhe Wanbao.

The court heard that on the morning of Oct 28 last year, Tran used a bamboo pole to bludgeon and kill a sun conure, Lucky, which belonged to her stepdaughter in their flat at Block 101 Rivervale Walk. The act violates the Animals and Birds Act, for which offenders can be jailed up to 18 months, fined up to $15,000, or both. 

Hang is a Singapore permanent resident (PR) and works as a manicurist. She is married to a 61-year-old Singaporean man, Mr Yu Ching Meng. 

Mr Yu’s daughter, Ms Yu Mei Ling is a member of the Singapore national netball team. According to sources online, Ms Yu has participated in important tournaments such as the Asian Netball Championships and the Nations Cup.

Lianhe Wanbao also found an online interview featuring Ms Yu. When asked how she kept herself composed, Ms Yu said she would play with her pet parrot, Lucky.

She said:

“He is very cute and loves to play.”

Court documents reveal on Oct 27, 2016, a day before the incident, Ms Yu was in the living room playing with Lucky which was perched on her shoulder. 

Hang returned home after work and was walking past Ms Yu and Lucky when the parrot suddenly flew at her and bit her on the right side of her face, almost injuring her eye. 

Hang immediately rushed into her room and complained to her husband. She also threatened to kick Lucky out of the house, or kill it. 

The following morning, Hang woke up to find Lucky in its cage. It was around 8am at the time, and both Mr Yu and Ms Yu were not at home.

Seizing the opportunity, Hang took out a bamboo pole used to hang laundry, opened Lucky’s cage and repeatedly struck the parrot until it died. 

When Mr Yu returned home after breakfast at around 9am, Hang showed her husband the body of the parrot and said that she had hit the bird countless times with the bamboo pole.

After that, she threw the dead bird and the cage down the central rubbish chute located outside the flat. 

Ms Yu lodged a report with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) at around 3.15pm on Nov 6, 2016, saying that her pet parrot had been killed by her stepmother.