Student fed dog drugs, driver says

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The driver of a pet delivery company that transported a Pomeranian puppy from Bangkok to this northern province met police yesterday as part of a probe into whether a medical student drugged and killed the animal to claim compensation.

Pairoj Somsri, a 41-year-old employee of PetMovers, spoke to Pho Klang investigators as a witness in the case. He was responsible for taking the puppy, which belonged to sixthyear Mahidol University student Phattarapong Songsapkul, to the suspect’s home province last week.

The driver said he would not lodge a complaint against Mr Phattarapong as the student agreed to drop his demand for compensation from the company.

Moreover, he said he has already forfeited his 2,500 baht payment for delivering the animal.

The driver was summoned after a police complaint was filed by the provincial livestock office in Nakhon Ratchasima accusing the student of animal cruelty, as an autopsy found 12 medicinal pills in the Pomeranian’s stomach.

The medicine is believed to be for treating hypertension.

Mr Pairoj said he was paid 2,500 baht by the firm, which instructed him to take good care of the puppy as the owner had purchased a 50,000-baht accident insurance policy.

During the journey Mr Phattarapong sat in the front passenger seat and held a dog carrier with the puppy inside, the driver said.

He said he had no knowledge as to what drugs the dog was administered during the trip as the carrier’s hatch faced the door of the vehicle.

Mr Pairoj, however, said Mr Phattarapong informed him he had given the puppy motion sickness tablets. When the vehicle stopped at a petrol station in Pak Thong Chai district, the student took the animal out of the vehicle for around 20 minutes, he said.

Shortly after arriving in Chok Chai district, Mr Phattarapong asked him to take the dog to Centre Pet Hospital as it appeared to be depressed and suffering from flatulence. It was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The student demanded 50,000 baht in compensation but the company refused as the death did not fall under the conditions stipulated on its insurance policy.

Mr Pairoj subsequently asked the hospital to conduct an autopsy which revealed the drugs inside the dog’s stomach, he said.

The lab results are due in a week, police said.