Report: Senior citizen allegedly assaulted by MBPJ officers during stray dog round-up now under police probe
KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — A senior citizen who claimed he was assaulted by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officers during a round-up of stray dogs is now under investigation for obstructing civil servants from carrying out their duties, said Petaling Jaya district police chief Fakhrudin Hamid.
According to a report by Free Malaysia Today, Fakhrudin said the MBPJ enforcement team lodged a police report stating that the man was accidentally hit by one of their dog-catching iron rods after a tussle broke out when the man shut the gates to his premises to protect the dogs.
The team also said that they had acted after receiving complaints from members of the public about the stray dogs.
“Following his action, the officers were unable to carry out their official duties to catch the stray dogs.
“In the scuffle, the man was injured after he was accidentally hit by a rod used to catch stray dogs,” Fakhrudin said.
He added that the case was being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code for causing injury and Section 186 for obstructing officers from carrying out their official duties.
The same report quoted Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung as saying yesterday that MBPJ should investigate the incident after videos of the alleged assault at Taman Kanagapuram started making the rounds on the internet.
“My office has also sought clarification from MBPJ regarding its standard operating procedures, if these exist, regarding dog-catching operations.
“This includes the behaviour of enforcers involved in such operations,” Lee was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the New Straits Times had reported yesterday that a 60-year-old man identified as Patrick Khoo had lodged a police report over his alleged assault by MBPJ enforcement officers.
According to the report, Khoo said he had only been trying to protect his dogs during the operation, which are now in the custody of the MBPJ team.
“I was in my factory around 8pm and I heard the dogs that were guarding the premises barking.
“I saw an unfamiliar group of men in uniform with a truck. They came without explaining anything to me and attacked me for defending my dogs,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said that the officers did not issue a warrant or informed him of any prior orders to detain the dogs.
