Platinium Dogs Club operator accused of animal abuse faces 13 charges in court
The Platinium Dogs Club operated out of a rented semi-detached house in Bukit Panjang.
SINGAPORE — A 31-year-old woman, who operated the Platinium Dogs Club pet hotel that has come under fire for alleged animal abuse, will be charged in court on Monday (June 15) for various offences, the authorities said.
In a joint news release, the police, the National Parks Board and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) said that the woman will face a total of 13 charges under the Animal and Birds Act, Penal Code and Business Names Registration Act.
The charges include:
Six counts of failure to take reasonable steps to ensure that an animal is provided with adequate and suitable food and water
One count of failure to take reasonable steps to ensure that an animal is protected from, and rapidly diagnosed of, significant injury or disease
One count of failure to make reasonable efforts to recover an animal when it is missing
One count of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal
The woman was arrested in January last year.
In December 2018, the pet hotel, which operated out of a rented semi-detached house in Bukit Panjang, was raided by the authorities after numerous complaints about its alleged mistreatment of animals.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) took temporary custody of 18 dogs and a rabbit retrieved from the pet hotel’s premises after the raid.
The next month, a pet owner, Ms Elaine Mao, and a group of her friends were involved in a stand-off outside the house with the woman who allegedly owned it, after Ms Mao's dog had gone missing from the facility.
Ms Mao had previously called on the online community to help her look for her missing dog in a Facebook post which went viral.
Media reports stated that the woman and a male driver were trying to get away from the group in a car when they allegedly knocked down a man, who had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance.
AVA later confirmed that Ms Mao's dog had died while being boarded at the Platinium Dogs Club.
