MALAYSIA — Braden Yap Hong Sheng, the 19-year-old youth who pleaded guilty to setting off fire to a female stray dog in Skudai, Johor, has now been spared from being caned publicly after the High Court dismissed the sentence.
Abu Bakar Katar, the Johor Bahru High Court Judge, made this ruling set aside the light caning sentence imposed by the Sessions Court last month.
On 18 Apr, Sessions Judge Datuk Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim delivered the verdict to cane Yap lightly seven times and added that Yap should be placed on a one-year good behaviour bond with a surety of RM10,000 (approx. 2,255 USD) for his offence.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Syafiq Mohd. Ghazali. The light caning on Yap was supposed to be held at 9 am on 21 May.
According to Malaysian media outlet Utusan Malaysia, Yap’s defence counsel, G.K. Sritharan, informed that the High Court judge called both the prosecution and defence to hear the criminal review proceedings against the sentence on Sunday (21 May).
“The High Court has conducted a criminal review and modified the sentence of seven canings. ”
Now, the remaining sentence is only a good behavior bond for 12 months,” he said when met outside the court premises.
“The decision was made based on provisions under Section 293 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), where two sentences cannot be imposed on an accused.”
According to Mr. Sritharan, his client’s hand was fractured during the incident involving the dog, and subjecting him to caning could result in additional injury.
“One arm was already broken and he has not recovered fully from it. And to inflict harm on him now may be too harsh, I don’t know.”
“Of course, the (overturning of the caning sentence) will make this case viral again – they will say ‘it’s not fair’ etc, but it will be ok. My client can go on with his life,” he said.
Judge told Yap that his action is ‘cruel and inhumane’
Earlier on 12 April, Yap pleaded guilty in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court to the charge of animal cruelty for causing undue pain to a brown female dog in front of premises at Jalan Impian Emas 22, Taman Impian Emas, Skudai, at 1.49 am on 27 March.
It was revealed that, at approximately 12.30 noon on 28 March, a veterinarian from the Johor’s Veterinary Service Department (JPV) conducted a physical examination on a dog.
JPV officer found that the animal was in a state of fear and had bruising and burns on its left thigh, injuries on its front leg, and bleeding in its left eye.
During the trial, the judge ordered that the video recording of Yap abusing and setting the dog on fire, be played in court.
CCTV footage showed a man hitting and burning the dog in question.
The footage, shared by netizen Leow Yee Chin on 28 March and went viral online, showed acts of abuse by Yap in front of the premises, where Yap repeatedly hit a stray dog with a metal rod before leaving in his car.
After a while, Yap returned to the same location, beat the dog again, and threw a brick at it. He then lit the dog on fire, causing it to run away with its tail ablaze.
Yap issued an apology after the incident was exposed online
Yap issued an apology via a 45-second video on his Facebook post after the video went viral on social media, with many netizens questioning the sincerity behind his apology.
“I know no matter how I explain it, I should not and cannot do it. So, I admit my mistake.”
He confessed that he had learned a lesson, was very sorry for what happened, and would reflect and repent.
“I’m really sorry. I promise here that I will never do this again. I hope everyone can give me a chance to reform, and I’m willing to cover the medical expenses.”
