Court throws out woman’s suit against neighbour over dog attack

PETALING JAYA: The magistrates’ court in Alor Gajah, Melaka, dismissed a woman’s suit against her neighbour for alleged negligence after she was bitten by a dog.

S Ramayee claimed the dog, which stayed at P Devika’s home, attacked her on June 19 last year.

She alleged that Devika allowed the dog to roam freely outside the house without supervision.

Ramayee claimed she suffered a fractured pelvis, a fracture of the left femoral neck, and an injury to her right wrist after the “attack”.

In her defence, Devika said she was not the dog’s owner and claimed that Ramayee’s lawsuit was filed after she was “persuaded” to do so.

Magistrate Teoh Shu Yee ruled that Ramayee failed to prove her claim on the balance of probabilities against Devika.

The court said there were inconsistencies in Ramayee’s testimony regarding where the alleged dog attack actually took place.

“At one time, she said that the dog bit her in front of the defendant’s house.

“At another time, she stated that the dog was within the compound of the defendant’s house,” she said.

Teoh also said there was no evidence that the dog was violent and had attacked or bitten anyone in the past.

“The evidence consistently showed that the dog lived in the defendant’s house for several years and there was no prior instance of biting by the dog,” she said.

The court also said the government needs to revise the Animals Act.

Teoh said the Act was enacted to provide for the prevention of the introduction and spread of animal diseases, the control of the movement and slaughter of animals, the prevention of cruelty to animals, and matters relating to animal welfare, conservation, and improvement.

“However, the law does not deal specifically with civil liability arising from attacks by animals,” she said.