Platinium Dogs Club owner arrested by AVA on Sunday night
SINGAPORE — The operator of pet boarding house Platinium Dogs Club has been arrested and is assisting with investigations on animal welfare-related offences, said Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development in a Facebook post on Monday (Jan 7).
Several pet owners have also been reunited with their dogs that were being previously boarded with Platinium Dogs Club, said Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary with the Home Affairs Ministry.
SINGAPORE — The operator of pet boarding house Platinium Dogs Club has been arrested and is assisting with investigations on animal welfare-related offences, said Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development in a Facebook post on Monday (Jan 7).
The operator was arrested on Sunday night, Ms Sun told TODAY.
Sign up for TODAY's newsletter service on any of these platforms. Click here:
"Investigations will be comprehensively carried out, and we will take enforcement action on any animal welfare infringements," said Ms Sun.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) is continuing its investigations into Platinium Dogs Club, “including further inspections”, she added.
"I am happy to know that several pet owners have been reunited with their dogs that were being previously boarded with Platinium Dogs Club,” said the Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency.
Previous media reports alleged that Charlotte Liew is the operator of Platinium Dogs Club. There are no records of the pet boarding house on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's website.
The facility was raided by the authorities on Dec 29 and Dec 31 last year following numerous complaints about its alleged mistreatment of animals. Eighteen dogs and one rabbit were removed from its premises — a rented semi-detached house in Bukit Panjang — during the raids.
On Jan 2, pet owner Elaine Mao and 10 of her friends gathered outside the premises to confront Platinium Dogs Club’s operator about Ms Mao's missing Shetland sheepdog.
The confrontation turned ugly when a 40-year-old man in the group remained in the path of a black Jaguar allegedly driven by Ms Liew's companion as it was reversing out of the house, despite advice from the Police to move away.
The man claimed that the reversing vehicle had hit him. He was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for outpatient treatment after complaining of pain in his knees.
The driver and the group of 11 people were subsequently asked to assist with police investigations.
Addressing the confrontation, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday that all parties will be investigated, including those who have "taken the law into their own hands".
Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.
Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.
By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.
