KOTA KINABALU: A single mother will stay one night in jail and pay RM7,000 in fine, in default of seven day's imprisonment, after she pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in feeding her dog 32 sewing needles.

A vegetable seller, Latifah @ Hilda Dusin, 53, was charged under the Animal Welfare Enactment 2015, on Jan 19 last year after her elder daughter informed on her.

Sessions Court judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamed meted out the sentence after hearing arguments from the prosecutor on Friday (Aug 3).

In asking for a light sentence, Latifah said she had done so to protect her children, as the dog was vicious.

She also said that she did not have much income and that there was no one to look after her children if she went to jail.

According to the facts of case, Latifah's dog had on Jan 19, 2017, attacked her son. This resulted in him suffering serious injuries.

The black dog had apparently bitten her daughter a day before as well, but her injury was not severe.

In retaliation, Latifah then fed the dog with a piece of bread filled with needles and told her elder daughter, who lives in Sandakan, about her actions.

Latifah's daughter then informed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) about the incident.

She was arrested soon after that.