The father of a full-time National Serviceman (NSF), who was punished for filming an unauthorised video of an abandoned dog tied up in Pasir Ris camp, has lashed out at the Ministry of Defence’s (MINDEF) handling of the case, accusing it of not honouring its word to a member of an animal welfare group.
Simon Spencer also wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday that his son and eight other NSFs were threatened into keeping mum about the alleged abuse of a stray dog by a senior officer.
Responding on its Facebook page, the Army dismissed the allegations against these commanders as “untrue and unfounded” and reiterated that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) does not condone any acts of cruelty to animals. In an earlier post at midnight on Tuesday, it said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore agreed with its investigation findings that no dog abuse had been committed.
The Army also posted a picture of a woman’s leg showing teeth marks (pictured, left), saying it was of a staff who had been bitten twice by “aggressive” stray dogs that are a “persistent danger to personnel”. In December last year, there were at least five recorded incidents of attacks by these dogs, with four causing injuries to its personnel, it added.
In his post, Spencer said Animal Lovers League President Cathy Strong was asked by MINDEF to disclose who handed her the 21-second video of the black dog with a taut white rope tied around its neck that prevented it from moving or lying down.
She was assured that it was purely for investigation into the animal abuse and that no charges would be pressed against personnel involved in filming it, he claimed.
“It was clear that MINDEF did not keep to their word to Cathy when two officers informed me that my son will be charged,” said Spencer.
The Army did not address Spencer’s claims about the ministry’s assurance to Strong. It reiterated that unauthorised videography within camps and disclosure of information to persons outside the SAF violated camp security regulations and were “serious offences”.
Reply to Media Queries on Alleged Dog Abuse in Pasir Ris Camp
Posted: 25 Feb 2014, 0930 hours (GMT +8)
In response to media queries on the outcome of MINDEF’s investigations into the alleged dog abuse, MINDEF issued the following reply:
"MINDEF has completed the investigations into the alleged abuse of dogs in Pasir Ris Camp and concluded that the allegations were unfounded. We have shared the findings of the investigations with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and AVA agrees that there was no dog abuse committed."
Colonel Kenneth Liow
Director Public Affairs
Ministry of Defence
The Army has also posted the following statement on its Facebook page:
"MINDEF/SAF has completed an investigation into the allegations of dog abuse in Pasir Ris Camp, and concluded that the allegations were unfounded. The findings of the investigation were shared with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) who agreed that there was no dog abuse committed.
Since the middle of last year, personnel from Pasir Ris Camp have been chased by stray dogs in the vicinity of the camp premises. Pasir Ris Camp also received complaints from members of public about being chased by these dogs.
In November and December last year, the dogs grew increasingly aggressive and instead of just chasing people, started to attack them. In December 2013 alone, there were six incidents of attacks by the dogs. Four of these incidents resulted in injuries to personnel. The worst case happened to a civilian lady working in the camp, who was bitten on two occasions. Camp personnel then decided to chase the dogs out to ensure the safety of the personnel in the camp. The AVA had also been alerted of the situation.
The SAF does not condone any acts of cruelty to animals and takes a serious view if its servicemen were found to be guilty of such acts."
Well kind of dumb to believe the words of Animal Lovers League !!! haha - they love animals more then people ...
Cathy Strong - sold out out the young man for a dog !!
They had no honor in life, they have none now in death.