SINGAPORE - A dog died after its owner allegedly ran down almost 20 floors with it attached to him by a leash.

Yeo Poh Kwee, 45, is said to have wantonly and unreasonably caused unnecessary pain and suffering to his female pet dog, named Yoyi, on Dec 21, 2016. This was allegedly a result of his running down the stairs with the brown toy poodle from levels 38 to 19 at a block of flats in Teban Gardens Road.

He is also accused of abandoning Yoyi by leaving it between levels 18 and 19 of the block that day; and keeping a dog that is more than three months of age without a licence.

He was charged in court on Wednesday (Sept 6).

Yeo also allegedly caused the death of another dog, a brown, male toy poodle named Brownie, on Nov 22 that year. He is accused of failing to take the dog to a veterinarian for treatment of injuries it sustained a day earlier.

Yeo asked for an adjournment to settle his work assignments. He has indicated that he would plead guilty.

The case is fixed for mention in a community court on Oct 11.

If convicted of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to any animal, he could be fined up to $15,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months on each charge.

The maximum punishment for abandoning an animal is a $10,000 fine and 12 months' jail; and for keeping a dog without a licence, a $5,000 fine.