News

Woman Fined $5,000 After Abandoning Illegal 16YO Pet Dog at Hougang Lift Lobby

2021-07-29 , 1:55 pm

Adopting a pet comes with a lot of responsibility.

Unlike a new toy which you can return to the store, a pet can be a lifelong duty, where you’ll always have to ensure that they’re well-fed and healthy.

If for whatever reason, you cannot take care of your pet anymore, you’d probably put it up for adoption, right?

Well, one woman simply stuffed her dog into a carrier bag and abandoned it by a rubbish bin instead.

So Neglected it Couldn’t Open its Eyes

On 15 Oct last year, the National Parks Board’s (NParks) Animal & Veterinary Service arm received information about an abandoned dog.

The dog was found in a pink carrier bag near a rubbish bin on the ground floor of Block 709, Hougang Avenue 2, and rescued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

When it was examined, the dog was found to be suffering from several ailments and was clearly neglected.

It had crusty skin, overgrown nails, and couldn’t even open its eyes because they were blocked by its matted hair.

It also had missing fur all over its body and was mildly dehydrated.

Intentionally Abandoned Dog

The authorities soon identified Tan Siew Hoon, a 69-year-old woman, as the owner of the dog, who was named Miko.

Tan said her daughter had brought Miko home as a puppy one day, and that she had kept the dog for 16 years.

She said that she loved and doted on the dog, but that she started to neglect it when her husband died after falling down in the toilet one day.

Six months after her husband’s death, Tan abandoned Miko.

On that day, Tan fed Miko before placing it in the carrier bag and left it near a rubbish bin at the ground floor lift lobby of her Hougang HDB flat.

She didn’t report the loss of the dog, nor made any attempt to look for it.

This is why the prosecution asserted that Tan intentionally abandoned Miko.

Fined $5,000, Banned For Owning a Pet For 1 Year

For her actions, Tan was fined S$5,000 yesterday (28 July) and banned from owning any pet for one year.

She pleaded guilty to one charge each of abandonment and keeping the dog without a licence.

It turned out that Miko was kept illegally as it was not microchipped or licensed, which is required for all pet dogs in Singapore.

Tan maintained that the abandonment was simply a “moment of folly”, as she fed Miko that day.

Fortunately, Miko is now in foster care. Most of his conditions were treatable if grooming was carried out, the prosecution said.

What to Do If You Can’t Take Care of a Pet?

If you cannot take proper care of a pet, please do not neglect it. Instead, you could:

place it in a boarding kennel while you look for a suitable home for it
ask friends and relatives if they can help to foster or adopt the animal
put up adoption ads in Facebook groups, Classifieds sections, and on bulletin boards found in supermarkets and vet clinics

If nothing else works, you can fill up SCPA’s Rehoming Form and wait for their response.