Killer dog's owner fined and charged again

Elaine Soon Sien Ling outside the court, while her dog Beacon is at the Selangor Veterinary Services Department pound. Pic by Syarafiq Abd Samad

PETALING JAYA: THE owner of the dog which killed an elderly jogger last month escaped custodial sentence after the court heard that the victim's family had forgiven her for being negligent in the incident.

CANINE ATTACK : OWNER OF KILLER DOG FINED RM2,000 FOR NEGLIGENCE Source: ntv7.com.my

Elaine Soon Sien Ling, 28, an accountant, heaved a sigh of relief as she could have been sentenced to a maximum of six months' jail under Section 289 of the Penal Code for being negligent with her pet.

Magistrate Mohd Nazri Omran, however, imposed the maximum fine of RM2,000.

In sentencing her, Nazri said he took into account that the victim's family had forgiven her and had retracted the police report on the incident.

Soon pleaded guilty when the charge was read to her.

According to the facts of the case, the victim, Yip Sun Wah, 74 was jogging in SS19 Subang Jaya on May 8 when the dog, a cross between a miniature bull terrier and an American Staffordshire terrier, escaped from Soon's house and pounced on Yip.

The dog, which answers to the name, "Beacon", only let go of the the victim when neighbours hit it with an umbrella and a cane.

A neighbour, who identified himself as a doctor at the scene of the incident, said Yip died at the scene.

In mitigating for a light sentence, Soon, who was unrepresented, told the court that she had gotten the dog as security measure for her retired mother who was alone at home. She said that their home had been burgled before and that when she got her dog, she had taken it to the veterinarian and it was certified as healthy.

Soon added that on the morning of the incident, she had let her dog loose in the compound but locked the gate and had shut the garbage disposal gate.

She also tendered a letter from the victim's family, who stated they had forgiven her over the incident and that they had also retracted the police report.

Deputy public prosecutor, Siti Fatimah Yahya pressed for a sentence that would serve as a lesson to the public.

Soon's father and fiancee were present in court. The accused paid the fine.

Meanwhile, the fate of Beacon, lies in the decision of the court.

State Veterinary Services Department deputy director Dr Fadzilah A'ini Abd Kadir said the dog was still in their care.

"We have not received any instructions regarding the dog," she said, adding that Beacon was healthy and free of rabies.

Dr Fadzilah said said normally, in such cases, there are three options -- put the dog to sleep, send it to the police for training, or return it to the owner.

New Straits Times Friday, Jun 29, 2012

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Dog attacks humans, it's the owner, not the breed!

Dog attacks humans, it’s the owner, not the breed!

Ferocious debates notwithstanding, there are studies to show that almost every breed has been involved in fatal dog bites, and dogs that bite humans were 2.8 times as likely to be chained as unchained.

IN a kopitiam in Subang Jaya, Selangor, two 30-something women were snarling at each other over dogs.

A woman, whose bark was probably (hopefully) worse than her bite, insisted that pit bulls should be banned in Malaysia while her canine-loving friend argued otherwise.

Both were in a ferocious discussion about a death in their neighbourhood.

And I thought: “Who let the dogs out?” 

On Tuesday morning, a 74-year-old man was mauled by a miniature bull terrier cross while jogging about 1km from his house in Subang Jaya.

The dog attacked Yip Sun Wah for almost four minutes, biting his neck and almost tearing of his left ear.

The Star reported that the owner, a 25-year-old accountant, bought the animal three months ago after her house was robbed.

Eavesdropping, I pretended to be fascinated with the condensation on my glass of iced white Ipoh coffee.

The woman whose bark was hopefully worse than her bite went on and on about how “fierce” dogs (i.e. Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa and American Pit bull) were “killers on the loose”.

She supported the knee-jerk decision (in my opinion) by MPSJ (Subang Jaya Municipal Council) to immediately ban these dogs – classified as under the “big” category as predisposed to aggressive or dangerous behaviour.

Her friend, whose expression was that of a terrified Chihuahua, snarled back, calling the woman Mussolini for supporting a fascist move.

The dog-hating woman and MPSJ, I thought, were barking up the wrong tree.

I wanted to interject in the “dogfight”. But I didn’t as I was afriad the two rabid women would maul me.

Instead, I fired up my iPad to find an article which I read in the New Yorker, a weekly magazine, about a few years back that a violent dog was a reflection of its owner and not its breed.

It was written by the clever Malcolm Gladwell who has authored bestselling non-fiction books such as The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

A quick search on www.new yorker.com produced Gladwell’s article titled Troublemakers: What Pit Bulls Can Teach Us About Profiling, published on Feb 6, 2006.

Gladwell argued that the notion of a pit-bull menace rested on unstable generalisation.

Quoting Randall Lockwood, one of the United States’ leading dog bite experts, he wrote that Lockwood had seen virtually every breed involved in fatal dog bites.

“... including Pomeranians and everything else, except a beagle or a basset hound,” Lockwood said. “And there’s always one or two deaths attributable to malamutes or huskies, although you never hear people clamouring for a ban on those breeds.”

Gladwell also quoted a study that found dogs that bite humans were 2.8 times as likely to be chained as unchained.

“About 20% of the dogs involved in fatalities were chained at the time, and had a history of long-term chaining,” said Lockwood.

“Now, are they chained because they are aggressive or aggressive because they are chained? It’s a bit of both.

“These are animals that have not had an opportunity to become socialised to people. They don’t necessarily even know that children are small human beings. They tend to see them as prey.”

Gladwell continued: “The strongest connection of all, though, is between the trait of dog viciousness and certain kinds of dog owners. In about a quarter of fatal dog-bite cases, the dog owners were previously involved in illegal fighting.

“The dogs that bite people are, in many cases, socially isolated because their owners are socially isolated, and they are vicious because they have owners who want a vicious dog.

“The junk-yard German shepherd – which looks as if it would rip your throat out – and the German shepherd guide dog are the same breed. But they are not the same dog, because they have owners with different intentions.”

Lockwood said: “A fatal dog attack is not just a dog bite by a big or aggressive dog. It is usually a perfect storm of bad human-canine interactions – the wrong dog, the wrong background, the wrong history in the hands of the wrong person in the wrong environmental situation.”

If you think I’m a die-hard dog lover, I’m not.

When I was a 12-year-old, a dog (owned by a Catholic convent running Stella Maris primary school in Tanjung Aru, Sabah) bit the back of my left knee.

It was a local breed.

ONE MAN'S MEAT By PHILIP GOLINGAI

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Pit bull Terrier, a restricted breed; Time to regulate pet shops!

Cross-bred bull terrier a restricted breed, says vet dept D-G

PETALING JAYA: The dog that attacked and killed 74-year-old Yip Sun Wah is a miniature bull terrier cross which is a restricted breed in Malaysia.

Restricted breeds were not suitable as household pets, said Veterinary Services Department (DVS) director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin.

Such breeds, he added, were only meant for the use of military and enforcement agencies and not to be kept as pets.

He added that bull terriers were allowed to be kept as guard dogs providing they were given proper training and schooling.

“When an application is made to the local council for a licence for a restricted breed, the municipal agency will only issue the licence based on our recommendation,” said Dr Abdul Aziz. He said the DVS has published a guidebook to outline breed classification.

The guidelines can also be obtained at http://www.dvs.gov.my/web/guest/listband.

Dr Abdul Aziz also said restricted breeds were not supposed to be sold in pet shops.

He added that the DVS was currently doing a trace to determine the supplier and find out how a restricted breed could have been made available to the owner.

“I will instruct our enforcement unit to check all pet shops to see if they are selling banned and restricted dog breeds,” said Dr Abdul Aziz.

Meanwhile, dog trainer Wellington Ho said bull terriers have very powerful jaws.

“There is a mechanism in the jaw which tends to lock up when it is clamped shut,” he said.

However, Ho was quick to point out that he personally knew of domesticated bull terriers that have been properly socialised.

“They have very sweet temperaments once they are properly socialised,” he said.

The dog that killed Yip had a valid licence issued by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council.

The case will be investigated by the police under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence, which carries a maximum of two years' jail, a fine or both. - The Star

Images for the american pitbull graphics

Time to regulate pet shops, say canine welfare groups

By WANI MUTHIAH wani@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Canine welfare groups are outraged over the death of 74-year-old Yip Sun Wah after he was mauled by a miniature bull terrier cross.

They claimed that one of the reasons behind Yip's death was the poor regulation of pet shops, which sell restricted breeds suspected of being obtained from backyard breeders.

Save a Stray founder Jacqueline Tsang said Yip's tragic death was due to irresponsible breeders who did not ensure the bull terrier's owner had the expertise to handle the dog.

“I also hold the enforcers liable for not ensuring the restriction (on restricted breeds) was being properly implemented,” said Tsang.

Canine rescue project Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better coordinator Irene Low said it was time for the authorities to seriously regulate pet shops that sold such animals.

“Only then can backyard breeders, who carry out unethical breeding, be put out of business as they would not have a platform to sell their dogs and puppies,” she said.

According to Low, unethical breeders also had a tendency to cross-breed dogs that were not compatible with each other.

“When indiscriminate cross-breeding is done, it can seriously affect the dogs' temperament,” she said.

Furry Friends Farm founder Sabrina Yeap said the temperament of a dog was usually influenced by the environment it was brought up in.

“Whatever the breed, what matters most is the upbringing. I personally know of bull terriers that are loving family pets,” said Yeap.

KL Pooch Rescue co-founder Shannon Lam said the loss of a father and husband to any violent attack was unspeakable.

“Equally tragic is a society that seeks to punish a beast for behaving as such rather than punishing those who are behind its aggression,” she added.

Meanwhile, sources say several rescue groups are getting together to request the authorities not to euthanise the dog.

Dog trainer and G-Pet Boarding and Training Centre Carlos Huertez said he would take the dog in if the authorities were willing to hand over the bull terrier.

Related posts/stories:
American Pit Bull Kills Jogger !
Killer dog's owners make appearance at victim's funeral

American Pit Bull Kills Jogger !

SUBANG JAYA: A man who just turned 74 a few days ago was killed by a american pit bull while jogging in his housing area.

Yip Sun Wah died at the scene after the dog bit him on the neck and almost tore off his left ear in the 9.50am incident in Jalan SS19/5B, about 1km from Yip's house here.

The dog ran out of its owner's house and attacked Yip for almost four minutes before returning home.
A car salesman, who only wanted to be identified as Addy, 44, said he was on his way to meet a customer when he saw Yip being attacked by the dog.

Deadly bite: A family member mourning over Yip’s body in front of a house in SS19, Subang Jaya yesterday.

 

He said he tried to hit the dog with his umbrella but it was too aggressive and only stopped attacking after Yip was motionless.

It is learnt that the owner had just got the animal about three months ago after her house was robbed.

Subang Jaya OCPD ACP Yahaya Ramli said the 25-year-old female accountant had bought the animal from a private kennel. He said she has a licence to keep the dog.

“We have released her after recording her statement,” he added.

ACP Yahaya also said the dog had escaped from the house through the rubbish compartment door which was not properly secured.

The victim's body was sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre while the dog is now with the Shah Alam Municipal Council.

ACP Yahaya said the animal would be tested to ascertain if it has any disease.

The victim's eldest son Hon Mun, 51, said he was informed of the incident by an eyewitness who called him using his father's mobile phone.

“I rushed to the scene immediately but my father was already dead,” he said, adding the victim had been jogging in the area for the past 20 years.

The case is being investigated under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence which carries a maximum two years' jail sentence or a fine or both.

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya Municipal Council director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin said it had started checking residential areas in the township for breeds that were said to be aggressive and dangerous.

“Seven dog breeds, namely Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanesa Tosa and American Pit Bull are predisposed to aggressive or dangerous behaviour,” he said.

The council is also enforcing a directive from the Selangor Veterinary Department to ban these “unmanageable or possibly dangerous” breeds.

By RASHITHA A. HAMID rashitha@thestar.com.my

Pit Bull Kills 74year old Jogger in Subang Jaya

Dangerous animal: The pit buill being taken away by a man believed to be a family member of the dog owner.

Images for the american pitbull graphics