Police hunt two men for 'heartless' killing of a dog

BALIK PULAU - The police are on the hunt for two men following a viral video depicting their attack on a dog that had fallen into a contaminated drain since Sunday.

Barat Daya District Police Chief Superintendent Kamarul Rizal Jenal said the video clip, accompanied by the caption that read: "Not satisfied with hitting the dog with a motorcycle, two heartless men tortured the innocent dog to death", started gaining traction on social media at 6pm yesterday.

He further added that in the video, two men were seen attacking something with a stick in a bush.

"The incident was seen by a witness and he managed to record the action of the two suspects using his mobile phone.

"According to the witness, he saw two unknown local men suspected to be living near the scene of the incident attacking a dog that had fallen into a drain on the side of the road.

"After recording, he continued to send the recording of the incident to his friend who lives in Petaling Jaya, Selangor before it was uploaded and spread through a Twitter account, 'Syhmiee'," he said in a statement.

Kamarul further said a police report was lodged which has so far found that the incident took place at 8.38pm on July 8 in Kampung Telok Tempoyak in Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas.

"The police are now trying to track down the two suspects involved for further investigation.

The case is being investigated under Section 29(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015 which carries a penalty of up to RM100,000 in fines, a maximum of three years' imprisonment, or both, if convicted.

He added that the case was also investigated in accordance with Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act which carries a fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or both.

"The police will take strict action against those who abuse animals without a reasonable reason.

"We also remind the public not to viral the video," he said.