MALAYSIA— A 19-year-old male’s horrific act of animal abuse has caused outrage among Malaysian netizens, are calling for justice for the innocent animals and condemning the male’s demonic actions.
The incident, which occurred on 27 March in Skudai, Johor Bahru, involved the male offender beating with a metal rod and setting fire to a stray dog.
This shocking incident was brought to light on 28 March by a netizen named Leow Yee Chin who shared the CCTV footage on Facebook.
In the lengthy Facebook post, Mr Leow explained that a veterinary clinic downstairs of his premise had been feeding and taking care of two stray dogs, vaccinating and sterilizing them.
“Regardless of Malays, Indians or Chinese, they are all very kind to them. The dogs often come up to the stairwell to rest, and they won’t attack people who come up, they just sleep at the doorway to avoid the sun and rain.”
Recently, strange things had been discovered outside the clinic’s door, such as dirt, bricks, and other debris. Mr Leow also recalled that the dogs had been frequently found with new wounds. The clinic assumed it was from fighting or playing with other dogs and treated the injuries accordingly.
On Monday morning (27 Mar), Mr Leow was shocked to find a mess outside the shop, with a metal rod and dog poop on the ground. He knew something was wrong, as the dogs never defecate in their sleeping area.
Upon inspection, he discovered bloodstains on the wall, indicating that the dog had been attacked.
“We immediately went downstairs to tell the veterinarians who usually take care of them. The Malay veterinarian who takes care of them on a daily basis cried on the spot.”
CCTV footage reveals brutal abuse of stray dog
However, their shock and horror reached a new level when they reviewed the CCTV footage.
The footage showed a male repeatedly hitting the dog with a metal rod before leaving in his car. He later returned to the same location, beating the dog again and throwing a brick at it:
The situation escalated when the male proceeded to light the dog on fire, causing it to run away with its tail ablaze:
To make matters worse, the netizen discovered that the same male had previously been caught on CCTV throwing a vase at other stray dogs on 8 March in the same location.
Additionally, in another CCTV footage from 14 March, the offender can be seen throwing bricks and rocks at the dogs:
Victim dog receives treatment as veterinarian files police report
My Forever Doggo, an animal advocacy page, reported that the stray dog has two fractured legs, one in the front and one in the back, as well as first to second-degree burns.
The dog is currently receiving treatment and is expected to require three to six months to recover.
On 27 March, the veterinary surgeon, Mazeleen Laila Reduan, posted a condemnation of the 19-year-old’s actions on Facebook, expressing her disgust at the incident.
“This is a frustrating day when humans are worse than Satan himself..until now, I still can’t understand why you hit the dog and then came back to burn it at 2am..thankfully the dog did not suffer a third-degree burn.”
The veterinarian has lodged a police report and waiting for the authorities to take the necessary action.
The offender’s parent allegedly requested the vet to retract the police report
My Forever Doggo mentioned in the post that in response to the growing public outcry, the offender’s grandparents came forward to seek forgiveness from the public.
The page said the male’s mother allegedly went to the clinic, requesting the veterinarian to retract the police report.
“She allegedly shared that hurting the dog was a trivial matter, citing that the dog will bite others if left outside.”
A Facebook user, believed to be the offender’s parent, had publicly apologised on social media on behalf of his son’s action.
“As the mother of the offender, I take this matter seriously and admit my fault. After understanding the whole situation, I immediately took my child to the veterinary clinic where the incident occurred to sincerely apologize and hope that the other party can accept and forgive my child. ”
The post is also attached with a police report, claiming that back in November last year, the offender was chased by a stray dog which caused him to fall and suffer a broken left hand and scratches on his left leg.
The parent claimed that his son was also seriously injured, with broken bones, fractures and dislocations, requiring long-term treatment.
“He himself realizes his mistakes and closely cooperates with the police and animal protection associations to investigate the matter. ”
“As a mother we all hope to handle this matter in a low-key manner, and of course, we are willing to accept all the wrong behavior and legal responsibilities. At this point, my child and I sincerely apologize and hope to receive forgiveness and acceptance from the society, giving my child an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, ” the post wrote.
The vet refused to retract police report
Malaysia Chinese paper Sin Chew Daily News, although Ms Mazeleen did not blame the man who abused the dog, she remained determined not to drop the case.
She hoped that this incident would serve as a reminder to the public not to abuse stray animals. Ms Mazeleen also did not require the abuser’s family to pay for the dog’s medical expenses.
