Businessman Lim Soo Seng was fined the maximum S$10,000 for “unreasonably omitting” to bring his female cross-breed dog to the vet for treatment. Under the present Animals and Birds Act, anyone convicted of animal cruelty can be fined up to S$10,000 or jailed for up to a year or both.
Members of Parliament have now tabled a bill to amend the Animals and Birds Act to propose harsher penalties for those convicted of acts of animal cruelty. A person convicted for animal cruelty for the first time can now be fined up to S$40,000 and/or jailed up to two years. Subsequent offenders can be fined up to S$100,000 and/or jailed up to three years, if the law makers have their way with the proposed changes.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) thinks Lim has been let off easy and has appealed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a heavier sentence - lock the bugger up and throw the key away. Which means somebody else will have to house and feed the three other toy dogs belonging to Lim. Looking at the horrific picture of the dog that died, another body may even suggest that Lim be put out of his misery.
Quite obviously, dog lovers are getting a bit overboard here.
Especially when you consider how our senior citizens have hardly been given a fair shake after years of toil. When MOE scholar Sun Xu - who objected to some seniors looking his way - said "there are more dogs than humans" in Singapore, he wasn't paying us a compliment. In one particular poll, 39 per cent of respondents felt the punishment meted to him was too lenient - his scholarship was terminated, and he was required to pay back about $8,200 for the first tranche of the semester’s scholarship benefits - while 35 per cent said they were too little, too late. It was too late to save the canine's life, but is it too late to come to the aid of seniors trying to access their CPF?
Members of Parliament have now tabled a bill to amend the Animals and Birds Act to propose harsher penalties for those convicted of acts of animal cruelty. A person convicted for animal cruelty for the first time can now be fined up to S$40,000 and/or jailed up to two years. Subsequent offenders can be fined up to S$100,000 and/or jailed up to three years, if the law makers have their way with the proposed changes.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) thinks Lim has been let off easy and has appealed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a heavier sentence - lock the bugger up and throw the key away. Which means somebody else will have to house and feed the three other toy dogs belonging to Lim. Looking at the horrific picture of the dog that died, another body may even suggest that Lim be put out of his misery.
Quite obviously, dog lovers are getting a bit overboard here.
Especially when you consider how our senior citizens have hardly been given a fair shake after years of toil. When MOE scholar Sun Xu - who objected to some seniors looking his way - said "there are more dogs than humans" in Singapore, he wasn't paying us a compliment. In one particular poll, 39 per cent of respondents felt the punishment meted to him was too lenient - his scholarship was terminated, and he was required to pay back about $8,200 for the first tranche of the semester’s scholarship benefits - while 35 per cent said they were too little, too late. It was too late to save the canine's life, but is it too late to come to the aid of seniors trying to access their CPF?