The case of a Greater Taichung college student who was bitten in his private parts by a poodle when he visited his girlfriend last year is headed to court, with the dog’s owner charged with negligent assault.
According to the indictment issued on Friday last week, a student surnamed Yang (楊) visited his girlfriend’s house in September last year.
Immediately after his girlfriend, surnamed Chang (張), opened the door, a poodle jumped up and bit Yang in his scrotum, leaving a 1.5cm gash.
The poodle belonged to a friend of Chang’s surnamed Lai (賴) and she was looking after the dog.
Shortly after the incident, Yang filed suit against Chang and Lai, seeking NT$70,000 from each in compensation.
He later dropped the lawsuit against Chang after she agreed to pay him compensation, but they also ended their relationship.
However, Lai refused to pay, reportedly saying that Yang’s injury was “just a scratch” and that his demand was “highway robbery.”
Lai said that her poodle was easily aggravated by strangers.
The Greater Taichung Prosecutors’ Office said Lai was indicted for negligent assault on the grounds that she had not informed Chang of the dog’s temperament, which led to the incident.
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