A Malaysian singer arrested for illegally keeping a bear cub in her flat said she thought it was a dog.
Zarith Sofia Yasin, a 27-year-old from Kuala Lumpur, was arrested last week on two charges of keeping a young sun bear in her flat.
The former contestant on Malaysian singing talent show Rockanova said she had spotted the sick cub on the outskirts of the capital two weeks before and brought it home to look after.
Yasin told a local paper she affectionately named the sun bear Bruno but did not plan to permanently keep it as a pet.
She said: ‘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.
‘I was worried about sending Bruno to the zoo because the animals there look skinny.’
The Department of Wildlife and National Parks raided the singer’s Kuala Lumpur flat last week after a neighbour reported seeing the bear.
In a video of the bear uploaded to Facebook, the small cub can be seen roaring and sticking its head out of a flat window.
If convicted of keeping the endangered animal without a permit Yasin may face a fine of up to 200,000 Malaysian Ringgit, approximately £38,000, or 10 years in prison.
She was also charged with a second count of keeping the sun bear in an environment not conducive to its comfort and well-being.
This charge carries an additional fine of between RM5,000 and RM50,000 – £950 to £9,500 – or one year’s imprisonment.
Appearing at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today, Yasin pleaded not guilty to both counts.
She also denied accusations that she was keeping the cub in order to sell him.
She said: ‘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.’
The 27-year-old added she had treated the bear well.
‘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,’ she said.
‘If Bruno could talk, it would surely say the food I gave him was delicious. It ate chocolates!’
Yasin was released on bail and will appear in court again next month.
