THE recent death of Mr Nordin Montong brings to mind another tragic tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo, barely a year ago.

Then, a Siberian tiger had escaped from its enclosure, killing a teenage boy and injuring two other young men before police shot it dead.

The tigress involved was apparently a repeat offender.

In 2006, it had ripped off the flesh of its zookeeper's arm during a feeding.

The tiger was not put down after it hurt the zookeeper because it was said to have been behaving as it would in nature.

The same explanation has been given for the white tigers here. They will not be put down as they were behaving as they should. The exhibit is also to be opened shortly.

What do Singaporeans think ought to be done?

The New Paper on Sunday polled 100 people and found that almost all felt that the tigers should not be blamed for the incident.

As such, there is no need for the Singapore Zoo to send the tigers away or close the white tiger exhibit, which is one of the more popular exhibits in the zoo.

Of the 100 people polled, 99 said the tigers should stay and not be 'punished' in any way.

Even the lone voice of dissent did not want the tiger to be sent away.

Instead, she suggested that the exhibit should be closed - but even then, just temporarily.

The majority said that the animals were behaving according to their instincts.

Mr Jeff Yeo, an events organiser, said: 'It is not the tigers' fault. Animals, being what they are, will retaliate if provoked, or if they feel they are in danger, especially in their territory.'

He added that even if the tigers had escaped from their enclosure - which they had not - the zoo should be held culpable, not the animals.

Given that it was the man that had leapt into the tigers' way, Mr Kenneth Tan, 30, a writer, said that the tigers should be kept because otherwise, 'we might as well shut down MRT stations' since people jump onto the tracks there too.

While tigers who have injured people have been known to be put down, none of those polled felt that these white tigers deserved such a fate.

As recently as January, a tiger which had injured a drunken man in Russia was put down by wildlife officers.

The man was not fatally wounded but suffered lacerations on both arms and had fractured ribs.

Mr Wilfred Hu, 24, technician, said: 'There is no strong case for putting the tigers down.

'The cleaner was not their zookeeper, and it was not feeding time for them, so the tigers probably viewed him as a threat.'

Others cited the white tigers' beauty and the fact that they are an endangered species as reasons for maintaining the exhibit.

Madam B Abida, 50, a homemaker, said she would feel sad if the tiger exhibit was closed down for good.

But some of those polled felt that the zoo could do more to safeguard its employees and visitors.

Miss Wee Yuen Ling, 28, a finance manager, said: 'More precautions may be required to ensure such an incident does not happen again.'

additional reporting by Hedy Khoo, Elysa Chen, Lediati Tan, Benson Ang, Eoin Ee and Germaine Lim

This article was first published in The New Paper on November 16, 2008.