A DOG owner whose animals bolted from his front yard last month and attacked a neighbour and her small terrier has been fined $600, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said yesterday.
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 animals 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,' he said.
Mr Singh was also fined by the AVA for not muzzling the German shepherd and not having a licence for the retriever.
The 42-year-old Mr Singh confirmed yesterday that he had paid the fine.
'That is the law, so we have no objections to paying the fine,' he said, describing the $600 penalty as fair.
The animals bolted from his front lawn at Jalan Uji as Mr Adrian How and his wife Jermaine walked by with their two dogs. The gate to Mr Singh's yard was open.
In a scuffle that ensued, Mr Singh's six-year-old Labrador attacked the Hows' terrier. Mrs How, who was holding the terrier on a leash, was attacked by the nine-year-old German shepherd.
Mr Singh said his 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.'
Although he said 'the dogs are usually friendly and calm', he conceded that Rocky, the Labrador, was 'territorial'.
'Rocky was too active for his previous owners so they gave him away three years ago.
'He could probably still do with some training,' he said. He plans to send the dog for obedience training lessons under a professional dog trainer.
Meanwhile, police are still investigating the case after both parties lodged complaints. 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 compensation.
