The video of a pet dog’s attack on a teen girl in Bangkok, which was posted on YouLike yesterday, has caused controversy online about whether there should be laws that hold people responsible for their pet’s actions.
The 14-year-old victim of the dog attack, whose identity was withheld, needed 100 stitches in her face after a dog in her neighborhood of Phra Pin 4 village, Nong Khaem district, bit her on May 11.
In the video, the dog lunges at the girl and bites her face before being led away. The girl’s father, Surapong Jinawong, 47, said that the dog approached his daughter in the street. He tried to help but the attack happened very fast.
The girl received treatment at more than one hospital that night and Surapong made a report with Nong Khaem police the following day.
According to Daily News, Surapong accepted a settlement of THB150,000 but noted that it won’t cover all the medical costs related to his daughter’s recovery. He asked the dog’s owner for THB300,000 but agreed on half of that. He said that he already paid THB40,000 for her treatment and much more was needed.
No criminal charges have been filed.
The attack has prompted Bangkokians to start questioning how to hold owners responsible for a pet’s actions.
Among the internet commenters was Thai singer Joe Nuvo. He said that he thought the dog’s owner should be punished by law.
Referencing the recent viral story of the Ramkhamhaeng chicken rice vendor that beat and killed a dog after claiming it bit his child, Joe noted that people who attack dogs are getting severe sentences while owners who let their pets attack others are not punished.
“It’s idiotic. I’d like to propose a law that says a pet’s owner should face criminal charges if their pet attacks someone, and that the districts or temples should be where people register as their pet’s owner,” Joe wrote on his Instagram.
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