Taiwan - Post office irate after dog owner beats postman

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The post office yesterday urged dog owners to control their pets when postal workers are delivering the mail and to keep themselves calm during confrontations between postal workers and dogs after a postman was attacked by a dog owner last week.

Huang Hung-chun (黃泓鈞), a mail carrier in Greater Tainan, was hospitalized and is now recovering at home after being beaten by a dog owner on Friday last week, according to state-run Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政).

Besides condemning the dog owner’s violence, the post office said dogs had attacked postal workers more than 350 times since the beginning of the year, adding that on average there are 500 reported cases of mail carriers being bitten by dogs every year.

Postal workers feeling stressed in fear of being attacked by dogs would be encouraged to defend themselves properly when dealing with unfriendly dogs, the post office said.

That might have been what Huang was trying to do when he was attacked by a dog owner surnamed Yun (雲), who left Huang with broken teeth and eye bruises.

Yun said the mail carrier had repeatedly tried to provoke his dog by honking the horn of his motorbike.

“I only hit him a few times. So what?” Yun said.

Huang said he was trying to defend himself with a stick when the dog — which had threatened before — ran toward him.

Huang said he plans to sue Yun, and the post office said it would fully back its employee.