KOTA KINABALU: An elderly woman is believed to have died after stray dogs attacked her at the Kunak bus terminal in east coast Sabah.
Based on a closed circuit television camera (CCTV) recording of the incident, the woman was believed to have been attacked by a pack of 11 dogs at 1.49am on Saturday (Jan 25).
In the video, the woman was seen going down to the ground and using her hands to keep away the dogs encircling her before the pack attacked and bit her, ripping her clothes off.
Kunak district police chief Supt Sabarudin Rahmat said that police received a call from the public at about 6.30am (Saturday) informing them that a body was found at the bus terminal.
"Our police investigating team found the dead woman lying on the ground without any clothes left on her.
“There were signs of multiple dog bites on her hands, head, chest, both sides of her waist and legs," he said Monday (Jan 27).
“Based on our investigation, the woman did not have any identification documents, and we believe she is not from Kunak," he added.
He said that the woman's body had been sent to Tawau Hospital for post-mortem.
Police have classified the case as a Sudden Death.
Lahad Datu Umno youth chief Datuk Seri Dr Anil Sandhu said the latest incident was another reminder for comprehensive action that should be taken to address the problem in all districts in Sabah.
"All local councils, relevant government agencies, and animal rights activists should take the problem of stray dogs seriously as the time has come to solve this worrying problem that threatens people," he said.
"I could not watch the CCTV footage a second time after I saw the dogs attack and bite the elderly woman mercilessly. It should not happen again to anyone," he said.
He said in Nov 2024, stray dogs attacked and killed a two-year-old boy at Kampung Sungai Tohok, Semporna, and in Sept 2022, a 29-year-old woman was found dead after she was suspected to have been attacked by stray dogs in Kampung Batu, Semporna.
"Stray dog attacks can happen in villages, towns, residential, roads but also many cases of motorcyclists injured from falling while avoiding dogs chasing them on the road and even joggers in parks are not spared," he added.
