Pit bull jumps out of car, attacks scooter riders in Taipei City twice in one month

The owner of a pit bull has been fined, and the dog will be confiscated by animal protection authorities, after two attacks on scooter riders in Taipei City this month.

According to media reports, on March 6, the dog, named “Lucky,” jumped out of the rear window of the owner’s black SUV, and attacked a scooter rider in Wenshan District, Taipei City, while the car and scooters were stopped at a red light. The owner claimed that the dog had opened the window by himself.

The Taipei City Police Department said that it received a report of the incident at around 8:00am on March 6. Police said that a dog belonging to a man, named Hsu, had attacked a 30-year-old scooter rider, named Huang, causing Huang’s legs to be injured. Hsu told police that the dog had been jumping around in the back seat, and may have accidently touched the window switch.

The Taipei City Animal Protection Office issued Mr Hsu with a fine of NT$50,000 following the March 6 incident. However, they did not confiscate the dog, as Hsu was apologetic, and promised to keep the animal restrained on a leash, and muzzled, to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Second attack

At 8:40am, yesterday, March 17, police received a report of a dog attacking a scooter rider in Wolong Street, Da’an District. According to the investigation, the pit bull had again leapt out of the rear window of Hsu’s black SUV while it was stopped at a red light, and attacked a scooter rider, causing a laceration above the man’s knee.

Mr Hsu again claimed that the dog had stepped on the window switch.

The Taipei City Animal Protection Office issued a fine of NT$90,000 following the second incident, then later that day raised the fine to the maximum of NT$150,000.

 At a press briefing yesterday afternoon, a TCAPO spokesperson said that punishment will be imposed based on the violation of Article 20, Paragraph 2 of the Animal Protection Act, which stipulates that “aggressive pets entering and leaving public places or places where the public enter and leave must be accompanied by adults, and appropriate protective measures must be taken.” 

The TCAPO spokesperson said that TCAPO will confiscate and impound the dog after the second offense.

Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.