A DOG owner whose pets bolted from his front yard last month and attacked a neighbour and their small terrier has been fined $600, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said on Monday.

Mr Jagjit Singh was cited for not leashing his three dogs - a Labrador, a German shepherd cross and golden retriever - before they escaped from his Upper Bukit Timah property on Dec 30.

According to the AVA, two of the dogs mauled his next-door neighbour - a 35-year-old woman - and her kerry blue terrier. The woman, who was walking with her husband, suffered a gash on the thigh. The dog, which was being walked along with the couple's Siberian husky, was bitten in the neck and has recovered.

'The owner has been warned to confine the dogs properly within his compound,' said Mr Madhavan Kannan, head of the AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control.

'A repeat of such offences will result in sterner action taken against him,' he said.

Mr Singh was also fined by the AVA for not muzzling the German shepherd and not having a licence for the golden retriever.

The 42-year-old Mr Singh said on Monday he had paid the fine.

Mr Singh said the dogs had been trained not to run out of the house and were usually tied up when the front gate was open.

'It was an unfortunate coincidence that the neighbours walked past when the dogs were untied and the gate was open,' he said.

'The dogs are usually so friendly and calm. It is very surprising that this could have happened,' he said.

Under the penal code, a dog owner whose animal attacks a person can be fined up to $5,000 and ordered to pay up to $2,000 in compesation.