din
11-28-00, 06:53 AM 11-28-00
He paid $350 for pet to be cremated, but got this instead
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804b.jpg It was supposed to be a dignified final gesture for a pet dog.
A beloved campanion which had been part of the family for the last 10 years.
That's why Mr Edmund Ong, 23, a sales executive, paid $350 to the James Tan Veterinary Hospital - to give Doggie a solemn cremation.
But what Mr Ong didn't know till later was that Doggie's carcass was instead incinerated over mesh wire and two hot stoves.
The shocking, barbecue-like, cremation was done in an open courtyard behind the veterinary hospital.
Said Mr Ong: "It makes my blood boil." Because he had paid for a decent cremation - not this.
The vet has since offered him compensation of 10 times what he paid, plus a written apology. (See letter, above.)
It all started when Mr Ong's mixed breed fell ill late last year.
The 10-year-old dog was easily breathless and lethargic, with a poor appetite.
Said Mr Ong: "When I took Doggie to Dr James Tan, the doctor said he was suffering from heart murmur. Dr Tan gave him some medicine and sent him home. He recovered after that."
A few months later, Doggie had a relapse.
The concerned owner rushed his pet to the hospital in the middle of the night.
He said: "Doggie's condition looked pretty bad. He seemed to be gasping for breath and his gums had turned white. Dr James Tan said that it was highly unlikely he would survive the night."
But Doggie did make it through that night and was taken home the next day.
Said Mr Ong: "The morning after he was brought home, he suffered another attack. He was breathless and suddenly collapsed in the living room.
"His body lay limp on the floor and his muscles were all knotted and stiff. I knew that he was gone."
In despair, Mr Ong rushed Doggie to the vet, but it was too late for his beloved pet.
On Sept 28, Doggie lost his last battle.
Said Mr Ong: "I couldn't save my dog. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. The last thing I could do for him was to arrange a decent cremation."
He paid the hospital $350 for an individual cremation, and another $400 to have his pet's ashes housed at the hospital crematorium.
"I was told that I couldn't watch my dog's body being incinerated, and I was asked to collect the ashes two days later," he said.
But a day after he had placed Doggie's ashes at the hospital's crematorium, he received a phone call.
"An ex-classmate, who was then working at the hospital, told me that Doggie had not been properly cremated.
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804c.jpg
FIERY END: The open courtyard where animal carcasses were cremated, and what's left of an incinerated animal in the courtyard.
"He told me that his body had been burnt on a stove outdoors in an undignified way. It was like he was burnt on a makeshift barbecue-like pit."
Enraged, he called Dr James Tan and demanded to know the truth.
"Dr Tan told me that he would check and call me back by 2pm."
When the vet didn't, Mr Ong called again that afternoon.
"This time, he admitted that my dog had been cremated in an open compound over a stove. I was so angry.
"I demanded to know what he was going to do to settle the problem, and he asked me to go to the hospital to talk things through."
That afternoon, at 3.30pm, Mr Ong saw the tiny courtyard where Doggie was turned into ashes.
The New Paper contacted Mr Ong after learning about the incident from another person.
Dr Tan offered Mr Ong compensation of $7,500 - 10 times what he had paid the hospital - and a letter of apology. Mr Ong has accepted the compensation.
In the letter, Dr Tan apologised for cremating Doggie on an open fire in the hospital compound without proper equipment.
Dr Tan also promised not to cremate any more animals the same way.
Said Mr Ong: "It's really not about the money.
"Doggie wasn't just a dog to me, he was like a son. He was my first pet and will be my last."
Vet says: My own animal was also burnt like that...
FACED with Mr Ong's case, Dr James Tan answered every query from The New Paper calmly.
Yes, I had burnt dead animals over a stove, the 61-year-old veterinarian replied.
Does he know that it is illegal? "Yes," he answered.
Said Dr Tan: "Previously, someone did it for us and he sent the dead animals away. But he's no longer doing it.
"So we thought, for small animals, just put it on the fire and burn it away."
He doesn't regard what was done to Doggie as extraordinary.
"So what? My own animal was also burnt like that," he explained.
"There's nothing wrong with that... Actually, doing it is nothing. Just put a grill there, put the thing on the fire and burn.
"Put it in a crematorium in a box, fire burns it. You do it barbecue-style, fire also burns it.
"You know how small a hamster is? So small, you still want to put it in a big crematorium?"
Dr Tan said that officers from the Ministry of the Environment were alerted about the hospital's method of cremation of animals last month.
An officer inspected the premises just last week and he was given a warning not to do it again, added Dr Tan.
"I promised the officer that I would have nothing more to do with this, even burning small animals like tortoises. I don't want to do it any more.
"I do not like it, frankly speaking. And now, I make it a point - that I won't do it any more."
When I asked to view the premises, Dr Tan offered to show me around.
The courtyard was clean. I saw two stoves stacked neatly on a barbecue pit at the side of the yard.
And there was no sign of charring on the grey cement floor.
Vets must follow a code
We asked the Environment Ministry these questions:
Dr Tan provides a cremation and burial service for pets. But allegations have been made that he cremates the pets by burning the carcasses over an open fire in the courtyard of his hospital.
Is this illegal? What are the legal and ethical guidelines for burning of animal carcasses? If found guilty, what is the penalty for illegal cremation of pets?
Dr Tan claims that an Environment Ministry officer visited the premises twice, once last month, and once last week, and he was let off with a warning. Is this true?
ENV: Open burning of dead animals is prohibited. ENV will investigate the complaint.
We have advised those living in landed property that they can put the dead pet in a strong opaque plastic bag, tie up the bag securely, and leave it out in the bin in front of their house for collection by the public waste collector serving their estate. For HDB dwellers, they are advised to deposit the bagged dead pet in the nearby bin centre. The public has also been advised to seek the services of private animal crematoria if they find it hard to do the above.
What the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) says Dr Tan provides a cremation and burial service for pets. If the allegations against him are proven, what action will be taken against Dr Tan?
Vets are licensed by AVA to treat, vaccinate and inoculate animals and birds. They are also required to uphold their professional conduct in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Veterinarians. Vets who are found to have violated the licensing conditions or Code of Ethics are liable to sanctions or penalty as determined by the AVA, or Singapore Veterinary Association.
COMPLAINTS
THREE employees at the veterinary hospital told The New Paper that Dr Tan also used expired medicine and left-over anaesthetic from earlier surgeries to put new animal patients to sleep.
Dr Tan acknowledged both complaints, though he insisted that he has never used expired drugs intentionally.
EXPIRED DRUGS:
Showing me his drug cabinet, Dr Tan said: "It's not like they expire on that very day, making them unusable the next day. They always have some allowance - six months or one year.
"But of course it's not that we deliberately want to make use of these drugs. Sometimes, we simply overlook the expiry date...
"We remove some of the drugs that have expired... but when it comes in a box all sealed up, we don't go and check every single bottle in it.
"Then you open it up, after maybe six months or so, the drugs might be left with only two months. So how? Can't help it, got to quickly use it up."
But he said that he would get his staff to check the stocks regularly from now on.
LEFTOVER ANAESTHETIC:
Does he use leftover anaesthetic to put animals to sleep?
"If an animal is to be put down in front of the client, we always have the anaesthetic bottle there, and we use fresh anaesthetic."
Pulling out a used syringe, half-filled with a translucent blue liquid, he continued: "All this is nice and clean... I don't need so much. The remaining, I keep it.
"The next time another dog needs to be put down, I personally see that there's nothing wrong with using this one rather than letting it go to waste."
Extract from : The Eletric New Paper
[b]Doggie<b/>
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804.jpg
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804b.jpg It was supposed to be a dignified final gesture for a pet dog.
A beloved campanion which had been part of the family for the last 10 years.
That's why Mr Edmund Ong, 23, a sales executive, paid $350 to the James Tan Veterinary Hospital - to give Doggie a solemn cremation.
But what Mr Ong didn't know till later was that Doggie's carcass was instead incinerated over mesh wire and two hot stoves.
The shocking, barbecue-like, cremation was done in an open courtyard behind the veterinary hospital.
Said Mr Ong: "It makes my blood boil." Because he had paid for a decent cremation - not this.
The vet has since offered him compensation of 10 times what he paid, plus a written apology. (See letter, above.)
It all started when Mr Ong's mixed breed fell ill late last year.
The 10-year-old dog was easily breathless and lethargic, with a poor appetite.
Said Mr Ong: "When I took Doggie to Dr James Tan, the doctor said he was suffering from heart murmur. Dr Tan gave him some medicine and sent him home. He recovered after that."
A few months later, Doggie had a relapse.
The concerned owner rushed his pet to the hospital in the middle of the night.
He said: "Doggie's condition looked pretty bad. He seemed to be gasping for breath and his gums had turned white. Dr James Tan said that it was highly unlikely he would survive the night."
But Doggie did make it through that night and was taken home the next day.
Said Mr Ong: "The morning after he was brought home, he suffered another attack. He was breathless and suddenly collapsed in the living room.
"His body lay limp on the floor and his muscles were all knotted and stiff. I knew that he was gone."
In despair, Mr Ong rushed Doggie to the vet, but it was too late for his beloved pet.
On Sept 28, Doggie lost his last battle.
Said Mr Ong: "I couldn't save my dog. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. The last thing I could do for him was to arrange a decent cremation."
He paid the hospital $350 for an individual cremation, and another $400 to have his pet's ashes housed at the hospital crematorium.
"I was told that I couldn't watch my dog's body being incinerated, and I was asked to collect the ashes two days later," he said.
But a day after he had placed Doggie's ashes at the hospital's crematorium, he received a phone call.
"An ex-classmate, who was then working at the hospital, told me that Doggie had not been properly cremated.
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804c.jpg
FIERY END: The open courtyard where animal carcasses were cremated, and what's left of an incinerated animal in the courtyard.
"He told me that his body had been burnt on a stove outdoors in an undignified way. It was like he was burnt on a makeshift barbecue-like pit."
Enraged, he called Dr James Tan and demanded to know the truth.
"Dr Tan told me that he would check and call me back by 2pm."
When the vet didn't, Mr Ong called again that afternoon.
"This time, he admitted that my dog had been cremated in an open compound over a stove. I was so angry.
"I demanded to know what he was going to do to settle the problem, and he asked me to go to the hospital to talk things through."
That afternoon, at 3.30pm, Mr Ong saw the tiny courtyard where Doggie was turned into ashes.
The New Paper contacted Mr Ong after learning about the incident from another person.
Dr Tan offered Mr Ong compensation of $7,500 - 10 times what he had paid the hospital - and a letter of apology. Mr Ong has accepted the compensation.
In the letter, Dr Tan apologised for cremating Doggie on an open fire in the hospital compound without proper equipment.
Dr Tan also promised not to cremate any more animals the same way.
Said Mr Ong: "It's really not about the money.
"Doggie wasn't just a dog to me, he was like a son. He was my first pet and will be my last."
Vet says: My own animal was also burnt like that...
FACED with Mr Ong's case, Dr James Tan answered every query from The New Paper calmly.
Yes, I had burnt dead animals over a stove, the 61-year-old veterinarian replied.
Does he know that it is illegal? "Yes," he answered.
Said Dr Tan: "Previously, someone did it for us and he sent the dead animals away. But he's no longer doing it.
"So we thought, for small animals, just put it on the fire and burn it away."
He doesn't regard what was done to Doggie as extraordinary.
"So what? My own animal was also burnt like that," he explained.
"There's nothing wrong with that... Actually, doing it is nothing. Just put a grill there, put the thing on the fire and burn.
"Put it in a crematorium in a box, fire burns it. You do it barbecue-style, fire also burns it.
"You know how small a hamster is? So small, you still want to put it in a big crematorium?"
Dr Tan said that officers from the Ministry of the Environment were alerted about the hospital's method of cremation of animals last month.
An officer inspected the premises just last week and he was given a warning not to do it again, added Dr Tan.
"I promised the officer that I would have nothing more to do with this, even burning small animals like tortoises. I don't want to do it any more.
"I do not like it, frankly speaking. And now, I make it a point - that I won't do it any more."
When I asked to view the premises, Dr Tan offered to show me around.
The courtyard was clean. I saw two stoves stacked neatly on a barbecue pit at the side of the yard.
And there was no sign of charring on the grey cement floor.
Vets must follow a code
We asked the Environment Ministry these questions:
Dr Tan provides a cremation and burial service for pets. But allegations have been made that he cremates the pets by burning the carcasses over an open fire in the courtyard of his hospital.
Is this illegal? What are the legal and ethical guidelines for burning of animal carcasses? If found guilty, what is the penalty for illegal cremation of pets?
Dr Tan claims that an Environment Ministry officer visited the premises twice, once last month, and once last week, and he was let off with a warning. Is this true?
ENV: Open burning of dead animals is prohibited. ENV will investigate the complaint.
We have advised those living in landed property that they can put the dead pet in a strong opaque plastic bag, tie up the bag securely, and leave it out in the bin in front of their house for collection by the public waste collector serving their estate. For HDB dwellers, they are advised to deposit the bagged dead pet in the nearby bin centre. The public has also been advised to seek the services of private animal crematoria if they find it hard to do the above.
What the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) says Dr Tan provides a cremation and burial service for pets. If the allegations against him are proven, what action will be taken against Dr Tan?
Vets are licensed by AVA to treat, vaccinate and inoculate animals and birds. They are also required to uphold their professional conduct in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Veterinarians. Vets who are found to have violated the licensing conditions or Code of Ethics are liable to sanctions or penalty as determined by the AVA, or Singapore Veterinary Association.
COMPLAINTS
THREE employees at the veterinary hospital told The New Paper that Dr Tan also used expired medicine and left-over anaesthetic from earlier surgeries to put new animal patients to sleep.
Dr Tan acknowledged both complaints, though he insisted that he has never used expired drugs intentionally.
EXPIRED DRUGS:
Showing me his drug cabinet, Dr Tan said: "It's not like they expire on that very day, making them unusable the next day. They always have some allowance - six months or one year.
"But of course it's not that we deliberately want to make use of these drugs. Sometimes, we simply overlook the expiry date...
"We remove some of the drugs that have expired... but when it comes in a box all sealed up, we don't go and check every single bottle in it.
"Then you open it up, after maybe six months or so, the drugs might be left with only two months. So how? Can't help it, got to quickly use it up."
But he said that he would get his staff to check the stocks regularly from now on.
LEFTOVER ANAESTHETIC:
Does he use leftover anaesthetic to put animals to sleep?
"If an animal is to be put down in front of the client, we always have the anaesthetic bottle there, and we use fresh anaesthetic."
Pulling out a used syringe, half-filled with a translucent blue liquid, he continued: "All this is nice and clean... I don't need so much. The remaining, I keep it.
"The next time another dog needs to be put down, I personally see that there's nothing wrong with using this one rather than letting it go to waste."
Extract from : The Eletric New Paper
[b]Doggie<b/>
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/local/images/2804.jpg