Singapore
Due to financial difficulties, Joseph Tang Yew Liang had abandoned the cream-coloured mongrel named Momo at an empty space in Ubi.
The cream-coloured mongrel named Momo. (Photo: AVA)
SINGAPORE: A 32-year-old man was fined S$4,800 on Thursday (Jun 1) for keeping and later abandoning an unlicensed dog.
Joseph Tang Yew Liang pleaded guilty to abandoning the cream-coloured mongrel named Momo at an empty space in Ubi in November 2016. The dog, which was unlicensed, was found the following day and has since been re-homed.
The court heard that a year before the incident, Tang had adopted Momo from his ex-boss, who owned a shop located in Ubi. Tang did not obtain a licence from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to keep the dog, said AVA prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan.
He said that in October 2016, Tang became unable to take care of Momo and another dog named Orni. This was due to financial constraints and because Tang’s rental flat lease was due to end. Tang then decided to send both dogs to a boarding facility while he looked for suitable adopters. Two to three days after that, he said, Tang checked Momo out of the facility and abandoned it at an empty space beside his ex-boss’s shop in Ubi.
Tang was fined S$4,000 for abandoning the dog. He also pleaded guilty to another charge of keeping Momo without a licence, for which he was fined S$800.
Mr Yap had initially asked the court for a S$5,000 fine for Tang on the abandonment charge, noting that this would act not just as a “specific deterrent” for him, but also as a more general deterrent to other members of the public. He added that such cases of abandonment are also “very hard to detect”, and it was only “by chance” that AVA had received feedback from a member of the public who knew Tang and his act.
In mitigation, Tang, who was not represented, said that he had first tried to call the SPCA, but was told that the SPCA could not keep the dog. He said he was asked to “find (my) own way” to find an adopter for the dog. When pressed by District Judge May Mesenas on why he did not look for another shelter that could take in the dog at no charge, he said he was not aware of them.
For abandoning the dog, Tang could have been fined up to S$10,000, jailed up to a year, or both. For keeping it without a licence, he could have been fined up to S$5,000.
