SINGAPORE - A 33-year-old man was fined for keeping and later abandoning an unlicensed dog, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a release on Thursday (June 1).
Joseph Tang Yew Liang was fined $4,800 for one count of pet abandonment and two counts of keeping unlicensed dogs.
The AVA said that it was alerted to the abandonment of two unlicensed pet dogs - named Momo and Orni - at Block 150, Ubi Avenue 4, in December last year, and commenced investigations immediately.
The investigations also revealed that Tang owned the dogs, which had been abandoned at two separate locations - the Ubi Ave 1 and animal welfare group Save Our Street Dogs' (SOSD) rehabilitation centre - since November 2016.
The dogs were later taken in by a fosterer and SOSD.
Tang admitted to abandoning Momo out of financial difficulty, but "there was insufficient evidence and credible leads" to conclude that Tang abandoned Orni too, it said.
First-time offenders who abandon their pets can be jailed for up to a year, or receive a maximum fine of $10,000, or both.
Pet owners who do not license their pet dogs can be fined up to $5,000.
The AVA also encouraged members of the public to be vigilant and report cases of pet abandonment to either its 24-hour hotline (1800-476-1600) or its website.
