May 26, 2011

IN THE ST NEWSPAPER TODAY

Boy adopts pedigree dogs, then sells them

Animal activists up in arms over teenager's scheme
By Judith Tan

Elmo, a Yorkshire terrier, was rescued recently by activists from non-profit animal welfare group Zeus Communications. They
bought the dog for $300 from the 13-year-old boy, who had been keeping it in a small cage outside his HDB flat. --
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALYCIA YEE

A 13-YEAR-OLD secondary school student has gotten animal activists worked up over his scheme to adopt dogs for free,
only to later sell them for pocket money.

With his baby face and glib tongue, he has cast himself as a grieving dog owner and approached several pet owners
online, pleading with them to let him adopt their pedigree toy dogs.

To milk their sympathy, he would remark that their dogs reminded him of his dog which had just died.

But as soon as he received the dogs, he would go into businessman mode, putting them up for sale online and raking in a
handsome profit.

He told The Straits Times he did it for the money.

His scam was exposed when a dog owner who had handed her dog over to him called a day later to ask him how it was.
He claimed it had run away.

Ms L.S. Zhang, a 39-year-old administrator, doubted his story and went to the police. Police confirmed she had lodged a
report, and would only say that investigations are ongoing.
The boy, protected as a minor under the Children and Young Persons Act, cannot be named.

But Ms Zhang's Facebook post on her dealings with him has gone viral. Animal activists and dog-loving netizens are
incensed, and want the authorities to take action.

Ms Zhang said it all began when she was looking to give up Precious, her three-year-old Maltese, because she had
recently had a baby and moved in with her parents-in-law.

She posted notes on the Facebook pages of two animal shelters, Mutts & Mittens and Madam Wong's Shelter, as well as
on her own Facebook page, and also put up advertisements at several pet portals.

'Then this 13-year-old contacted me to express his interest,' she said. He told her his 16-year-old Maltese had died and
he wanted to adopt another.

She handed him her dog on May 14 for what was meant to be a 'trial adoption period'.

The next day, he claimed that the dog had run away. Later, when she questioned him in front of the police, he denied
there was ever a dog.

His neighbours in Lorong 5 Toa Payoh told The Straits Times that he had often been seen with a dog - but a different one
every two to three days.

Lawyers who were contacted said it is possible that certain 'dishonesty offences' could have been committed.

An offence of cheating is said to have taken place when one party dishonestly induces another to deliver a property to
him, causing damage or harm to the latter in body, mind, reputation or property.

Lawyer Chia Boon Teck said in this case, it all depends on how the boy represented himself to the dog owners. If it was
clear that he told them he wanted the dog for himself but later got rid of it, 'he may be then accused of cheating them of
their dogs'.

Among animal activists pushed into action are volunteers from the non-profit Zeus Communications, which rescues strays
and runs a blood-donor database for dogs. They have run a sting operation to gather information on the boy and his
family.

Volunteer Alycia Yee said the group had been close to rescuing a pregnant Maltese that the boy had advertised for sale
online, but that when they went to the boy's home, the dog had already been sold.

However, they recently managed to rescue a Yorkshire terrier named Elmo that was kept in a small cage outside the
boy's HDB flat. It cost them $300 to get the dog as the boy drove a hard bargain.

Ms Lynda Goh, an animal communicator with Zeus, said: 'It was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on how much he wanted for
the dog. When we finally agreed on the price, he went with me to the ATM and refused to issue a receipt, but I managed
to get him to commit via SMS.'

A check online revealed that the boy has 'dealt' with breeds such as Jack Russell and Yorkshire terriers, Japanese Spitzes,
Chihuahuas and Malteses - posting about 20 advertisements in all. Animal activists believe he started his activities
around six months ago.

When The Straits Times visited him at his flat, he had just returned home from school. Also at home were his
grandparents.
He denied any wrongdoing and said Ms Zhang's Maltese was the first dog he sold. He said matter-of-factly: 'Once she
gave it to me, it became my property to sell.'

He denied carrying out similar transactions earlier, but changed tack when shown copies of previous advertisements he
had posted online. Asked why he was doing this, he replied: 'So I can have money to go out.'

His grandparents declined comment.

Ms Zhang said she was relieved that she had managed to track down Precious' buyer, adding: 'It's doing fine and I'm
glad it's now with a loving family.'

juditht@sph.com.sg