Appeal for Animal Abuser to be Given Deterrent Sentence

TO: ATTORNEY GENERAL CHAMBERS

PETITION FOR ANIMAL ABUSER TO BE GIVEN DETERRENT SENTENCE

A 3-year old Alaskan malamute died of severe heatstroke because its owner, Lim Bee Leong, 30, left it without water and shelter in the backyard of his terrace house. The poor animal was found with blood foaming at its mouth amid faeces, empty dish bowls and dangerous utensils and tools such as barbecue skewers and shovels.

This is not the first time that Lim, who lives alone, has neglected the dog. Acting on a complaint in 2003, an SPCA inspector has gone to his house and told him the weather here was too hot for an Alaskan malamute (an Artic sled dog which has 2 coats of fur and need plenty of water to stay cool) and that the dog should be kept in a cool place or an air-conditioned room. If it continues to be exposed to the hot sun, it might die of heatstroke. Despite the advice, Lim continued to neglect the dog, resulting in the tragedy. One wonders what anyone had to do to prevent such cruelty.

For this wilful and extreme act of neglect and cruelty, Lim was fined only $3,000. Acts of cruelty to animals are not uncommon in Singapore with new cases coming up every now and then. The problem is not only the lack of education but more importantly, the lenient penalties mete out to offenders. More often than not, many cases of negligent abuse amongst pet owners go unreported and therefore unpunished.

We earnestly plead with you to send a stronger message to these animal abusers by imposing harsher punishment on them. People must realise that owning pets bestows upon them a responsibility for the well being of the animal. They must realise that owning an animal is not like owning a toy. If we allow offenders to get off lightly, especially when they have been made aware of the dire consequences of their negligence of the animal concerned, we would be failing in upholding first world standards of decent behaviour whch we as a nation are striving to achieve.

Since the law allows Lim to be fined up to a maximum of $10,000 and jailed for up to one year, he should be given a jail sentence as a deterrent to future abusers. He should also be banned for life from owning dogs.

We would like to petition for Lim Bee Leong's sentence to include a period of incarceration. This would indeed give him time to reflect upon the cruelty that he has inflicted upon a poor, innocent animal that did not ask to be his pet. More importantly, it would send a strong message to animal abusers out there.

Please, please do not wait until more animals die such painful and cruel deaths before you act.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration and attention.