Singapore — The teen who trespassed into the Singapore Zoo’s white rhinoceros enclosure on Dec 17 to perform a backflip for a TikTok video had his bail revoked and is now on remand at Changi Prison after he breached his bail conditions.
19-year-old Ralph Wee Yi Kai is also said to have abused a frog at a Sentosa Cove property a week later.
Making use of his infamy that came from jumping into the rhino enclosure, Wee is also said to have been selling t-shirts with the name ‘Rhino Ralph’ embossed on them.
Wee allegedly placed the amphibian on a foosball table before directing a ball “at high speed” towards it. The ball struck the frog, which suffered injuries and died.
A TikTok video circulating on Reddit showed a group of boys and girls at a house where someone opened a cardboard box of frogs.
One of the frogs were then placed on a football table and someone could be heard saying, “Wait wait, I’m gonna ‘whack’ one”.
It could also be heard that someone mentioned it was “my last frog”, leading to the plausibility that all the frogs in the box were killed by them.
In court on Wednesday (Sept 15), it was heard that Wee could have abused prescribed drugs.
The Singaporean teenager was supposed to undergo urine tests at the Central Narcotics Bureau but had failed to do so.
District Judge Terence Tay heard from Wee’s Defence lawyer Shashi Nathan that the teen had gone to the Institute of Mental Health on Monday.
The lawyer added that there were some concerns as the teenager had suicidal tendencies.
Wee first appeared in court on July 12 and was charged with two counts of mischief as well as one count each of vandalism and criminal trespass. His bail was then set at $15,000.
He was later handed a fifth charge as he had allegedly caused “unnecessary pain and suffering” to a frog.
Separately, Wee allegedly committed an act of vandalism at around 2:40 am on Oct 9 last year by hitting an information panel at a bus stop in Sixth Avenue, off Bukit Timah Road, causing $900 in damage.
He is also said to have caused damage to two cars at the nearby Sixth Crescent that morning by hitting their side mirrors.
Wee is accused of causing nearly $2,800 in damage to a Mercedes-Benz and more than $1,600 in damage to a BMW.
His case has been adjourned to Oct 13.
Last year, when Wee trespassed into the rhino enclosure and had a friend film the incident, in the video posted on TikTok user @ralphwee_’s account, a man in a face mask can be seen riding what appears to be one of the zoo’s trams.
The first half of the video was filmed by the man himself, with the text “What’s Ralph thinking about” superimposed on his face.
He is then seen in the white rhino enclosure, with two of the animals in the background. He performs a backflip before running towards and making his way over the fence and out of the enclosure.
In a story posted to its official Instagram account, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which manages the zoo as well as the Night Safari, River Safari and Jurong Bird Park, said it was aware of the video.
It posted a strong message against such behaviour and against any copycat acts because these were dangerous to those engaging in them. It added that such behaviour was also disrespectful to wildlife and its animals.
If convicted of criminal trespass, Wee can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $1,500.
For vandalism, an offender can be either fined up to $2,000 or jailed for up to three years and receive between three and eight strokes of the cane.
For causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to 18 months and fined up to $15,000.
Netizens who commented on the TikTok video on reddit severely chastised Wee and his friends for their actions.
/TISG
Read related: Man jumps into zoo’s rhino enclosure just to do a backflip for TikTok video
Man jumps into zoo’s rhino enclosure just to do a backflip for TikTok video