SINGAPORE – Taiwanese actor-host Jeff Wang, who left Singapore in 2010, was bitten by his dog while on an Instagram Live chat with his fans on Sunday (July 11).
The 44-year-old former Mediacorp star was barely minutes into the chat when the Shiba Inu named Debu lunged at his arm and bit him.
The dog snapped at him before running off, while Wang exclaimed: “Why did you bite me?”
While Wang at first brushed off the incident, saying that Debu had bitten him “many times in the past”, he later brought out a first-aid kit and cleaned the wound.
“(Debu’s) behaviour can change in a split second. There aren’t any problems when we’re feeding him, but if he drops something and we use our hands or feet to reach out for the food, he will snap and bite you,” he said.
Wang, the winner of Star Search 1999, worked in Singapore for more than a decade before heading back to Taiwan to further his career.
He explained that he was feeding his dog before the live stream and the dog then went into his room and put his head on the table. When Wang reached out to stroke his pet, the dog thought more food was coming.
“I saw that he was baring his teeth through the screen. I knew that I was going to get bitten,” said Wang.
He had wanted a dog for years and got Debu earlier this year, but the dog immediately fell sick with parvovirus, which is very contagious and has a high mortality rate.
Although Debu recovered, Wang said he became “very aggressive”, especially when it comes to food.
Concerned fans told him to take care and suggested he engage a dog trainer to correct Debu’s behaviour before it gets worse.