CRUEL DOG OWNER JEOPARDISES CHANCE TO BECOME DOCTOR

>> A committee member of the Medical Council of Thailand yesterday insisted a medical student said to have drugged his Pomeranian, causing it to be declared dead on arrival at an animal hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima, will lose the opportunity to become a physician if he faces a criminal lawsuit, deemed a breach of the medical code of conduct.

Despite the student not yet facing a suit against him, he is still required to undergo an examination of his mental state, said Dr Somsak Lolekha.

“If the results confirm that he is suffering from a psychiatric disorder, he will be unable to work as a doctor as he could harm his patients,” Dr Somsak said.

Compared to a criminal case like reckless driving causing death, Dr Somsak said the act was committed with no intention, which was different from intentionally violating medical ethics.

According to the council’s regulations, those who become physicians must not be convicted of breaching the code of conduct in criminal cases. Also, they must not have mental health problems.

Dr Somsak, however, said the council had to wait for the university’s investigation to be released first before making a decision.

Meanwhile, Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of Mahidol University’s faculty of medicine at Siriraj Hospital, said yesterday faculty officials planned to interview the student and his parents tomorrow.

An internal inquiry will be held and if the accusations are found to be true, the faculty would not protect the wrongdoer, said Dr Prasit.

“Give us time to investigate first because we have to interrogate the parents and the student. We will hold a news conference about the case as soon as possible,” the dean said.

Livestock officials in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday lodged a complaint against a medical student suspected of killing his pet dog with an overdose of human medicine to claim compensation from a pet transport company.

Overdosing t he dog deliberately amounted to animal cruelty in violation of the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animals Act of 2014, said veterinarian Ratchaphum Khiewsanam, head of the animal health section at the Nakhon Ratchasima office of the Department of Livestock Development (DLD).

Mr Ratchaphum filed the complaint on behalf of the provincial DLD chief after meeting with Pol Maj Mongkhol Kuptisirirat, investigation chief at Pho Klang police station yesterday.

A conviction for animal cruelty carries a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

The dog owner, said to be a medical student at Mahidol University, has been the target of public outrage since a Facebook user called Jakkarin Ringngoen posted images showing the dog being mistreated.

Veterinarian Anongnat Suttham, who runs the Centre Pet Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima, performed an autopsy on the Pomeranian on Friday and said she suspected foul play.

The dog owner demanded compensation from the driver of the pet transport firm hired to deliver his animal to the veterinary clinic. The driver said the dog was healthy when he picked it up, which was why he asked Ms Anongnat to conduct an autopsy.

The results revealed that the dog had consumed a large amount of medicine. More than 10 pills that turned out to be human anti-hypertension medication were taken from its stomach. But the dog owner insisted he had fed his pet vitamins.

Pol Maj Mongkhol said police would call Ms Anongnat, the dog owner and the driver of the transport firm for questioning.

The pills found in the dog’s stomach would be sent to forensic and medical science centres to confirm the type of medication, he added.

The owner of another animal hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima came forward on Saturday with a similar story involving the same dog owner. Khruewan Raksasap, owner of Ban Moh Ton Animal Hospital in Muang district, said a transport firm brought a seven-month old Pomeranian to her hospital on July 31.

Her staff had checked on the male dog and found it was healthy. But one hour later, the animal showed signs of illness and later died, said Ms Khruewan. She immediately contacted the dog’s owner.

Later, the owner and a driver of the transport firm arrived at the animal hospital. The owner demanded 40,000 baht in compensation from the transport firm, but the company refused.