Maximum S$10,000 fine for man who failed to give dog timely treatment

SINGAPORE — A businessman who failed to seek timely treatment for his pet dog was yesterday fined the maximum of S$10,000 under the Animals and Birds Act — the first time the maximum fine has been imposed by the court for animal cruelty.

Lim Soo Seng, 76, was convicted of “unreasonably omitting” to take his female cross-breed dog to the vet for treatment.

In May last year, Lim had taken the dead dog to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for disposal. Court documents stated that it was found to be emaciated and appeared “to have been chronically starved or malnourished, possibly for months”. It was then sent to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for a post-mortem examination. The AVA said the dog was “exceedingly emaciated” and had multi-organ dysfunction.

Lim had adopted the dog from the SPCA about seven years ago. A domestic helper who began working for Lim about a year ago said the dog, along with other pet dogs he owned, was fed dry food twice a day.

A month before the dog died, she had informed Lim that it had become very thin, but he did not take it to a vet for treatment. By the time the dog stopped eating and Lim decided to take it for treatment, it was too late.

For not taking the dog to the vet sooner, Lim could have been jailed up to a year, in addition to the fine.