BATU GAJAH: A restaurant owner was ordered to pay a RM2,000 fine by the Magistrate’s Court here after admitting to killing a stray dog using a firecracker.
Magistrate Azlin Zeti Zainal Abidin handed down the sentence to Wong Phan Sang, 64, and ordered that he be jailed two months if he failed to pay the fine.
Wong, who paid the fine, was accused of killing the dog by hurling a firecracker at it at about 7.30pm on Jan 28 at Jalan Seroja, Taman Pusing Baru in Pusing, Perak.
The charge was framed under Section 428 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both.
DPP Monisha Pandey said there was a rise in animal abuse cases and pressed for a deterrent sentence.
She said the accused should have lodged a complaint with the local authority, instead of using a firecracker which could also endanger the public.
“The prosecution feels that a heavier sentence is necessary to send a clear message that such acts will not be tolerated, and as a lesson to prevent the accused from committing a similar offence,” she said.
Defence counsel Choong Hui Yean said the act was done out of fear, saying the dog had previously attacked Wong.
She said Wong encountered the dog while going out for a walk that day. Two days prior, the dog allegedly chased Wong who was on his motorcycle and attempted to bite him, causing him to fall.
“Fearing another attack, he retrieved a firecracker and threw it to the ground to scare the dog away as the dog charged at him, but the dog instead bit it and died,” she said.
She said Wong has been receiving treatment for anxiety since 2020, and had spent four days in remand and urged the court to impose a minimal fine of RM500.
She said that the dog was wearing a collar and believed to have an owner, but residents had been unable to locate the person despite earlier efforts.
Based on the statement of facts, residents reported hearing a loud explosion near a restaurant in the area. The following day, a complainant obtained CCTV footage from a neighbour showing the accused throwing an object towards the dog.
Acting on information, officers from the Batu Gajah CID arrested the suspect on Jan 30.
During the investigation, the suspect led police to his residence, where he handed over a plastic container containing one lighter and six ball-type firecrackers of various colours.
