Valletta, Safar 17, 1437, November 29, 2015, SPA -- A 3-year-old boy was seriously injured on Saturday when a tiger lashed out at him at an illegal zoo in Malta, police said, according to dpa. The boy suffered lacerations to his face and head and will undergo emergency intervention in the coming hours. "He will probably need plastic surgery," a hospital spokesman told Times of Malta. The police said the tiger struck the boy at the Montekristo animal park as it was being accompanied by two handlers on a leash. Upon seeing the animal, the boy ran towards it, prompting the tiger to raise its paws, lashing the child in the face in the process, a zoo spokesman said. It was not the first such incident involving the tiger, the spokesman said. The zoo has been in the headlines in Malta because it does not have a permit to operate. Several enforcement notices by the country's planning authority have been ignored. --SPA 03:46 LOCAL TIME 00:46 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w