A Malaysian man has been fined for abusing and neglecting a dog to the extent that it was near death.

30-year-old Chan Kean Yap, who is also a Singapore Permanent Resident, pleaded guilty in court on June 3 to one charge of failing to ensure that the dog was provided with food and water.

Trapped in room and surrounded by faeces, urine

The dog, a male English bulldog, was first discovered by a National Parks Board (NParks) staff, according to court documents.

The staff had been conducting an inspection at an abandoned fish farm, Dreamfish Incorporated Singapore, located at 221 Neo Tiew Crescent on July 17, 2019.

However, he heard a whining sound from a room inside the building, where he then found the dog severely malnourished.

The dog was kept in a small cage, in a room that was littered with dog faeces and urine.

The staff immediately contacted Chan, who was an employee at the fish farm, and confirmed that the dog belonged to him.

Chan stopped working at the fish farm in May 2019 when it ceased operations due to farm lease expiring.

After informing Chan that the dog was in bad condition, the NParks staff reported the incident to the Animal Veterinary Service under NParks for further investigation.

Dog was near death

On July 23, Chan surrendered the dog to NParks.

A subsequent examination by an NParks vet revealed that the dog's body condition was one out of nine on the scale — the lowest rating next to death.

The vet also reported that the dog had no body fat and had experienced obvious loss of muscle mass.

This was likely due to "severe inadequate feeding" or underlying chronic illness.

The canine was so malnourished and its ribs were protruding, and its waist was extremely thin.

The medical examination also revealed that had the NParks staff not discovered the dog during his inspection, it might have died if left untreated at the fish farm.

The dog has since made a healthy recovery, and has been re-homed. This was what it looked like two months later on Sept. 18.

Fined S$4,000

On June 3, 2020, Chan pleaded guilty to one charge under the Animals and Birds Act for failing to ensure his dog had adequate food and water.

He was fined S$4,000 and banned from owning pets for a year, reported CNA.

For this offence, Chan could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

Further investigations revealed that Chan adopted the dog in 2017, but kept it at the fish farm without a license issued by the Director-General of Animal Health and Welfare.

A second charge of keeping the dog at the farm without a license was taken into consideration.

For this offence, Chan could be fined up to S$5,000.

Top photo courtesy of NParks