Malaysian singer arrested after mistaking a bear for a dog and keeping it in her house

Some days you might find yourself wondering if a dog and a bear are one and the same. If you are one of those people then allow us to introduce you to Zarith Sofia Yasin.

Unless you are up to date with the Malaysian pop scene then you might not be aware of Yasin, who shot to fame on the reality show Rockanova but all you need to know is that she has been arrested for keeping a bear as a pet, mistaking the animal for a dog.

On June 7, her house in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, was raided by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia after being tipped off about the animal by a neighbour.

Alarming footage of the bear crying for help from a window also made its way on to Facebook.

Yasin was soon arrested on suspicion of keeping an endangered animal in her apartment, with some people of social media accusing her of trapping the animal inside the house with the intention of selling it.

However, two days later she came forward to speak to Malaysian newspaper The Starand clarify how she had come to be in possession of the bear, which she had named Bruno and what she planned to do with him.

It was night time when I found the bear cub in a weakened state by the side of the road, and I thought it was dog!

I know the bear cannot be reared, it can't be kept as a pet. I only wanted to save the bear, I had no intention of exploiting it.

She added that she was only intending on keeping the bear in her home until it regained it's strength and planned to later hand it over to a local zoo.

I didn't put him in a cage because I didn't want him to stay there for too long—that would have been even more cruel.

I have a business to run during the day and at night, I sing… when do I have time to sell animals? This is not the way I make a living. Animals like that are not for sale.

If Bruno could talk, it would surely say the food I gave him was delicious. It ate chocolates!

Authorities estimate that the bear is believed to be five to seven months old and was considered to be in good health with it was retrieved.

Bruno is now in a wildlife rescue centre but it has not been determined if he will return to the wild given his young age, whilst Yasin has said that she is prepared to face the consequences for her actions.

HT Vice

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