More than a year ago, when dogs all over Singapore were free to roam around Singapore and lick strangers without masks, a dog hotel had hogged the headlines as much as COVID-19 done so now.
COVID-19: Someone was more viral than me?
Just for a while.
Platinium Dogs Club, ran by 31-year-old Charlotte Liew, was accused of lying about the death of a dog, a Shetland Sheepdog named Prince, that lived in a pet hotel operated by them.
She had known about the death of the dog and told Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore back then that the dog was missing when she herself had engaged a company to bury the dog.
Soon after, more beans were spilled; the pet hotel operated by her turned out to be worse than worst-reviewed Airbnb room you can find in the world.
She was accused of cremating more dogs under her care, ignoring dogs sent to her and even tied some of them to a window grille with a short leash.
In other words, animal abuse.
A viral video of an owner pleading Charlotte for her owner’s whereabouts had also indirectly sparked conversations amongst animal lovers.
Her case got so infamous that even Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam stepped in to talk about it on Facebook, and as we probably know by now, when Shanmugam talks, things get done.
If not, why would people suddenly gain a conscience and return their TRFs all of a sudden.
This morning, it was reported that the case would finally be heard today, as the accused will be charged with 13 charges.
And now we know why there are so many charges.
It’s not because there are 13 dogs.
It’s because she’s not just an animal abuser; she also abuses the laws, too.
Broke 3 Laws with 13 Charges
The 31-year-old faced 9 charges under the Animals and Birds Act for…animal abuse.
6 of them are for not providing an animal with adequate food and water under her care.
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1 is for causing pain and suffering to an animal, 1 is for failing to protect an animal from injury and 1 is for failing to make “reasonable efforts” to recover a missing dog.
And it’s not just dog business here.
She’s charged under the penal code, too.
1 is for providing false information to a public servant (remember: she said Prince was missing when she knew it was dead) and 1 is for obstructing, preventing, perverting or defeating the course of justice.
She also faced 2 charges under the Business Registration Act.
Yes, she’s not even registered.
Ran Her Business Without Registering for 10 Months
It turns out that between January 2018 to October 2018, she had started her pet boarding services without registering for a business.
But for some reason, she decided to register but not with her own name, but with a person called Charmaine Tam. The registered business address is also allegedly fake.
It’s unknown why she has done that. Maybe she could see the future and know that a saga is brewing.
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She has not taken any plea, and was offered a bail of $15,000. The case will be mentioned again on 8 July 2020.
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