Stray dogs in Pasir Ris Camp growing "increasingly aggressive": Army

SINGAPORE - The Army has said its Pasir Ris camp has suffered a series of attacks by "increasingly aggressive" stray dogs, after punishing a full-time National Serviceman who filmed one strung up in a camp bathroom so it could not move.

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Read the statement from The Singapore Army posted on their Facebook page at 8.17pm:

The SAF does not condone any acts of cruelty to animals. The stray dogs that had entered Pasir Ris camp were aggressive, and there were at least five recorded occasions of the dogs biting or attempting to bite our personnel. We have attached a photograph to show the dog bites suffered by a lady who works in the camp and was bitten twice.

The dogs were unpredictable and were a persistent danger to personnel. Commanders, who have a duty of care for their personnel, tried to chase the dogs out of the camp. Unfortunately, they remain a danger. The unit contacted AVA and was advised to contain the dogs and hand them over to AVA. The trapped dogs were handed over to AVA. The dogs were never abused. Allegations against these commanders were untrue and unfounded.

The person who took the video was a soldier in the camp. He violated camp security regulations that prohibit unauthorised photography in camp and disclosure of information to persons outside the SAF. These are serious offences, and he was punished for these offences.

Read the statement from The Singapore Army posted on their Facebook page at 12.24am:

MINDEF Concludes Investigation into Alleged Abuse of Dogs in Pasir Ris Camp

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.