SINGAPORE - A woman who strangled her pet dog was ordered to undergo 24 months of mandatory treatment on Friday (Jan 13).

Chinese national Wang Jun, 24, who is a Singapore permanent resident, had admitted to ill-treating the West Highland Terrier named Junior, which died at her hands, at her home in Kim Pong Road on Aug 30, 2016.

District Judge Lim Keng Yeow told her that while she is under the order, she must receive treatment, attend all appointments and take the prescribed medication. If she did not comply, she would be brought back to court to be re-sentenced.

The MTO, mandatory treatment order, is a community sentencing option implemented in 2010 for offenders suffering from mental conditions which have contributed to their committing the offence.

Investigation showed that Wang's 61-year-old mother-in-law saw her taking an umbrella and moving into Junior's playpen that day. She found this unusual and decided to video record her.

She then saw how Wang killed the dog.

When police came, Wang appeared dazed and mentally unstable.

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority prosecuting officer Edwin Ignatious M had told the court that Wang suffered from a brief psychotic disorder at the time of the offence for which she is still in recovery.

Wang claimed that she heard airplanes in the sky.

Fearing that they would drop bombs on her, she went to stop the dog from barking. In doing so, she sat on the dog, covered its mouth and strangled it with one hand, while using the other to hit its neck in an attempt to silence it.

She only released the dog after she realised it began foaming at the mouth.

She could have been fined up to $15,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months under the Animals and Birds Act.