Braised dog meat in restaurant? It's pork, confirms AVA

Straits Times 14 May 11;

A CHINESE restaurant in Jurong, dogged by online comments that it serves dog meat, has been cleared by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) of any wrong-doing.

An AVA spokesman said yesterday that tests of meat samples taken from the eatery showed that Song Hua Jiang Restaurant did not use dog meat.

'The meat used for the 'dog meat' dish was confirmed to be of porcine species,' she added.

On Sunday, the three-year-old restaurant and its owner, who is from China, had raised hackles - and heckles - after a netizen posted a picture of its menu on online forums.

The picture showed a page in the menu that said, in English, that 'braised dog meat' was for sale.

Mr Song Yu Ran, 39, the restaurant's owner, had clarified in a Straits Times story on Tuesday that it was a typographical error.

The text was supposed to say that the dish is similar to dog meat.

The restaurant serves two dishes that give customers the taste of dog meat, he had said in the ST story.

Contacted yesterday, he said he was relieved that the AVA tests had set the record straight.

'I've always said it's pork, not real dog meat,' he added in Mandarin. 'I hope everyone can go back to being understanding, good people now.'

He added that members of the public had stopped harassing him with calls since Thursday.

He has also corrected the errors in the menu to ensure that misunderstandings do not happen again.

The import of dog meat is illegal in Singapore and there are no licensed premises for the slaughter of dogs here.

If convicted, offenders face a fine of up to $10,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both, for each charge.

CHERYL ONG