Mechanic Arrested For Assaulting Pet Dog With Hammer

IPOH, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Police arrested a mechanic who allegedly assaulted his pet dog with a hammer at a housing estate in Taman Ria on Saturday.

Ipoh district police chief ACP Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said in the incident at about 8pm, the 42-year-old man hit his pet dog with the hammer after becoming angry when he was bitten by the animal.

"The arrest was made after a police report was lodged today by a complainant who saw a 43-second video recording that had gone viral on the Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better Facebook website. 

The video shows a man assaulting a dog with a hammer at a housing estate in Taman Ria, Ipoh," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

He said further investigations revealed that the assaulted dog was a pet dog belonging to the suspect and had a valid licence.

"The dog in this incident was rescued by the Perak State Veterinary Services Department for treatment purposes and also confiscated the shirt worn and weapon used by the suspect during the incident and handed over to the police for investigation purposes," he said.

Abang Zainal said further investigations revealed that the suspect had four previous records related to crime and 17 for narcotics.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 44 of the Animal Act 1953, which is the offence of mistreating and treason against animals. 

Earlier, a video went viral on Facebook which was uploaded on the Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better page showing a man hitting a dog. The incident was recorded by a woman, believed to be an individual who lived near the incident area, using a mobile phone.

-- BERNAMA