Man who caused dog’s death through abuse charged
A 23-year-old man was charged on Wednesday (31 May) with abusing a dog until it died. Kok Zhin Oi Gerald faces seven counts of animal cruelty.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a statement it was alerted on 29 December 2016 to a case of animal abuse, resulting in the death of a dog.
Investigation revealed that Kok had abused the dog on seven different occasions between July and December last year. The last abuse on 25 December resulted in the dog’s death.
According to a report by Today newspaper, Kok is not the owner of the dog, which was a female toy poodle named ‘Treasure’.
Court documents showed that at 4.30am on one of the days, Kok hit the dog using a sofa cushion for about 10 times within 15 minutes, the report said. Between July and August, Kok also hit the dog by using the sofa cushion more than once.
On Christmas Day, Kok used a plastic cloth hanger to hit the poodle and flung it violently towards the corner of a bed thrice. Later, on the same day, he used a sofa cushion to hit the dog twice before flinging the dog towards the bed. The dog hit a wall, causing it to die, the report added.
“AVA takes a stern view of animal cruelty and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any person or organisation found to have committed acts of animal cruelty. We will press for deterrent sentences, if warranted,” AVA said.
If found guilty, Kok faces a fine of up to $15,000 and/or 18 months’ jail for first conviction.
