The Platinium Dogs Club operator was slapped with 13 charges on June 15 for a litany of offences that had outraged pet owners in Singapore.
Charlotte Liew, 31, the operator of the pet hotel, was charged for obstructing the course of justice and hiring a pet cremation company to cremate the carcass of a missing Shetland sheepdog, Prince.
Charge sheets said the dog's body had been evidence relevant to investigations into its death.
The dog died while it was boarded at the pet hotel.
Liew was also charged with one count of furnishing false information to a public servant in January 2019, a charge that carries up to six months in jail, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
This was in relation to the whereabouts of Prince.
Nine of the 13 charges fell under the Animal and Birds Act, with six counts of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that an animal is provided with adequate and suitable food and water.
Each charge under the Animal and Birds Act carries a punishment of up to two years’ jail, a fine of up to S$40,000, or both, for each offence.
Liew is now out on S$15,000 bail and will return to court next month.
Other charges
In five cases, she caused dogs unnecessary suffering as she kept them tied to a window grille on a short leash in a room with poor ventilation.
In one case, a Jack Russell Terrier named QQ became unresponsive and died after she allegedly failed to bring it to a veterinarian and neglected its low-fat diet between Dec. 21 and 26, 2018.
She was also charged with failing to make reasonable efforts to recover a mixed breed dog named Texas when it was missing.
She was also charged with causing unnecessary pain or suffering to a Chow Chow named Whisky by leaving it to sit in its own urine and faeces for long periods between Dec. 9 and 18, 2018.
She was also accused of not bringing a Shih Tzu named Pika to a veterinarian, despite its multiple visible injuries, which is a case of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that an animal is protected from, and rapidly diagnosed of, significant injury or disease.
More charges related to unregistered business
Liew was also charged twice under the Business Names Registration Act.
Platinium Dogs Club was an unregistered business between January and Oct. 29, 2018, charge sheets stated, but she had provided pet boarding services in that period of time.
Liew is accused of abetting the furnishing of false information to the registrar on Oct. 30, 2018.
She allegedly instigated a person named Tan Charmaine to state herself as the owner of Platinium Dogs Club.
Liew also knew that the principal place of Platinium Dogs Club's business was 7 Galistan Avenue in Bukit Panjang, but Tan Charmaine had stated it as 570A Woodlands Avenue 1.
Each offence carries a punishment of up to two years’ jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.
Liew was arrested in 2018 over animal welfare-related offences.
Platinium Dogs Club was raided by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) following complaints that animals were ill-treated under its care.