Durian buffets at orchards are all fun and games until the animals that call the orchard home no longer welcome you there.
A tourist from China learned this the hard way and has submitted a police report against the owner of an orchard in Penang, after a dog alleged owned by the orchard had bitten the tourist on the leg during a durian buffet session.
The tourist, 锦煜, took to her Xiao Hong Shu account to share details into this incident.
She wrote, “I was bitten by a dog while at a durian buffet in a durian orchard in Penang (I didn’t touch the dog or even look at it at that time. I just stood up and washed my hands before the dog rushed over and bit me).”
“Now, the owner refuses to admit that it is his dog and refuses to take responsibility after speaking to the police. I’m prepared to go through the legal procedures and file a complaint with the Tourism Ministry and Municipal Council.”
She went on to ask the general public for recommendations on what to do.
In another post, she shared how she was taken to the hospital by the orchard owner for treatment following the bite.
The doctor at the hospital informed her that she needed to take 5 rabies shots over the course of a month. This caused her to have to extend her stay in Malaysia for the 1 month where she would have to take the rabies vaccinations at the hospital.
While the orchard owner apparently paid for the vaccinations, she requested for the owner to also compensate her for her extended stay in Malaysia, to which he denied her request.
“He also gave me an example: if a guest came to my orchard to eat durians and was hit on the head by a durian, should I have to take care of it?”
Feeling unsatisfied with the orchard owner’s response, she filed a police report. The orchard owner then told her that she won’t get a penny out of him.
She went on to share that the orchard owner apparently didn’t have a license to run his business.
The tourist also added that the police officer she spoke to didn’t know how to speak English, leading the officer and the orchard owner to have a conversation in Malay, to which she did not understand.
Following this, she was forced to privately negotiate terms with the orchard owner, who doubled down on his stance that the tourist will not get anything from him.
“At the beginning, he admitted that the dog was his and emphasised many times that the dog was vaccinated. He even showed me pictures and videos of the dog getting its shots. But, after arriving at the police station, he changed his story and said it’s a stray dog,” she explained.
We genuinely do feel for the tourist as having to extend a stay overseas can be expensive and a dog bite can be a huge pain.
What do you think that she should foot the bill herself or if it should be on the orchard owner? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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