S'pore woman asks domestic worker, 26, to beat & hang boyfriend's dog, dog dies, domestic worker gets jail

On her employer's instructions, a 26-year-old domestic worker repeatedly hit her employer's boyfriend's poodle to "discipline" it.

The domestic worker, Junny Lal Awm Pui, then tied the poodle called Boyboy from the balcony railing by its harness to "reduce its odour" on her employer's instructions.

The 15-year-old brown male poodle, which had been adopted by the employer's boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend, eventually died after a few hours in the sun.

Junny was sentenced to 9 months in jail.

Court documents did not indicate whether action would be taken against the employer, a 37-year-old woman by the surname of Heng.

Instructed to treat it separately from other dogs

The incident happened in a Fernvale condominium on Jan. 22, 2024.

Junny had been working for her employer, surnamed Heng, since Dec. 16, 2023.

In 2015, Heng's boyfriend picked up the poodle along Rochor Road with his ex-girlfriend.

As they couldn't find its previous owner, they adopted it, with Heng's boyfriend keeping the dog after their relationship ended in 2018.

When Heng's boyfriend got together with her, they agreed that Heng would keep the poodle at her condominium from Jul. 5, 2023.

Heng instructed Junny to treat Boyboy separately from her own two dogs.

It was to be confined to the balcony and rarely permitted inside. It was also to be fed on the balcony away from the other dogs.

She also instructed Junny to hit Boyboy if it started to eat without being told to do so.

Hung on the balcony to "remove odour"

Junny's offences were captured in footage from a CCTV camera installed by Heng's boyfriend on the balcony.

On Jan. 22, 2024, at about 9:52am, Junny filled Boyboy's food bowl, and when she was putting the food packet away, the poodle came over to eat.

Seeing that the poodle had started eating without being allowed to do so, Junny grabbed it by the neck and pinned it to the ground.

She then hit it three times on the head with her right hand and once with her left.

When Boyboy vocalised out of pain, Junny grabbed a makeshift rod devised by Heng from rolled-up pet food packaging and hit it forcefully on the head as it struggled.

At around 11:03am the same day, Junny then hung Boyboy by its harness from the balcony railing in midair under the sun.

She was following Heng's instructions to tie and hang Boyboy on the balcony railing in order to expose it to the sun, apparently to reduce its odour.

At around 11:46am, Junny hit the dog with the rod again while it was panting and lying on its side on the ground.

She also removed some bandages that were tied to its legs before tying it to a short leash on the balcony under direct sunlight.

Died two hours later

About two hours later, Heng told Junny to check on Boyboy, and she found that it was biting its tongue and bleeding from its mouth.

When they checked again, the poodle had died.

Shortly after, Heng arranged for Boyboy's carcass to be collected for cremation by Mandai Pet Sanctuary.

That evening, she also went to her boyfriend's house to celebrate his birthday, and after the celebration, informed him of Boyboy's death.

When Heng's boyfriend viewed Boyboy's carcass prior to its cremation on Jan. 23, he saw that its limbs were straightened, which raised his suspicions as it had been very active the day before.

Traumatic beatings 'likely' caused death: Vet report

After seeing the CCTV footage, Heng's boyfriend met with his ex-girlfriend to show it to her.

By then, Heng had already disposed of Boyboy's possessions, including its bowl, soap, brush, towel and toy bone, rod, and CCTV camera.

Heng's boyfriend's ex-girlfriend lodged a report with the National Parks Board (NParks).

However, no autopsy could be performed as Boyboy had already been cremated.

A veterinarian report found that Boyboy experienced “severe pain and suffering” from the abuse and that it was "very likely" that the blows to the head would have caused "painful head trauma and subsequent incapacitation”.

One vet consulted opined that in the absence of any other contributing factors, the repeated traumatic beatings would have "very likely" caused its death.

Junny was arrested on Aug. 26.

Sentenced to 9 months' jail

On Nov. 26, Junny pleaded guilty to three charges under the Animals and Birds Act.

She was seen lowering her head when videos of the abuse were played in court, The Straits Times reported.

Junny was seen sobbing as she apologised to the court for her cruel and brutal treatment of Boyboy that caused its death.

The judge said that while Junny acted on her employer's instructions in hitting the dog to discipline it, she could have controlled her strength in doing so, according to The Straits Times.

Junny was sentenced to nine months' jail on Nov. 26.

Court documents did not indicate whether action would be taken against Heng.

NParks statement

In response to Mothership's enquiries, NParks group director Jessica Kwok said that the agency takes all cases related to animal cruelty and abuse seriously and investigates all feedback received.

"We will take action against anyone who has committed an act of animal cruelty," Kwok stated.

She advised members of the public can help by reporting suspected cases of animal cruelty or providing potential evidence via NParks' website or by calling their Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.

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Top image from Derrick Tan/Facebook