The Taipei City Government has fined a dog owner NT$200,000 and seized his pit bull terrier after it in two separate incidents leaped out of a truck window and bit motorcyclists stopped at a red light.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the Taipei Animal Protection Office said it had been investigating the dog’s owner, surnamed Hsu (徐), for contraventions of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) stemming from the dog’s first attack on March 6 when it learned of the second attack on Monday morning.
In light of Hsu’s inability to control his dog, the office said it issued him fines totaling NT$140,000 for the two attacks, and seized and impounded the animal.
Photo: Liu Yung-yun, Taipei Times
However, shortly after, the Taipei Department of Economic Development — the animal protection office’s parent agency — said that after reviewing the decision, it raised the fines for the two attacks to NT$50,000 and NT$150,000, for a total of NT$200,000.
Under the Animal Protection Act, NT$150,000 is the maximum fine that can be issued for contravening Article 20, Clause 2 of the act, namely allowing an aggressive pet to roam in a public place without proper supervision and precautions.
Taipei Animal Protection Office official Hua Hsin-huei (華心惠) yesterday said the office confiscated the dog after meeting with Hsu at his home at about 12:40pm.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan City Government via CNA
Hsu told animal welfare officials he was upset to give up the dog, named “Lucky,” which he had had for more than 10 years, but acknowledged that he was unable to control the animal, Hua said.
The dog would be placed at a care facility where specialists would evaluate whether it is suitable to be put up for adoption, she said.
If the dog’s behavior can be improved, it would be put up for adoption to people meeting certain criteria, but if it remains aggressive, it would have to be euthanized, she said.
City government sources said that as of yesterday morning, the motorcyclists bitten by Lucky had not filed lawsuits against Hsu.
The first person bitten, surnamed Huang (黃), has returned to Kaohsiung to undergo procedures to remove dead tissue from his bite wounds, the sources said.
The name of the second person has not been released.
Hsu Shu-lei (徐書磊) — the chief of operations at the Plain Law Movement, a Web site that aims to explain the workings of Taiwan’s legal system in everyday language — issued a statement identifying the dog’s owner as his father and apologizing for the incidents.
In the statement, Hsu Shu-lei said that in the past few years, he and other members of his family, except for his father, had been unable to go near Lucky because of the dog’s “fierce personality.”
He added that his father was in talks with both of the people bitten to compensate them for the attacks.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS