(MY) - animal abuse

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ANIMAL ABUSE - Reports from The Malay Mail

Cat breeder faces neglect charges

JOTHI JEYASINGAM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24:

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In a rare case, a cat breeder went on trial yesterday on four counts

of neglecting four Persian cats under his care.

 

Abdul Rashid Mohd Othman, 50, an automobile company employee, has been

rearing pedigree felines for the past 15 years, and is also a member

of an online cat fan club.

 

He breeds and sells cats to pet shops and cat lovers. But more than

that, it has been his hobby for several years.

 

Abdul Rashid's obsession with cats, however, was questioned when he

was charged with neglect yesterday.

 

The trial has been set for two days and six prosecution witnesses are

expected to take the stand.

 

Yesterday's proceedings saw a large turnout at the magistrate's court.

Also present were officials from the Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals and cat lovers.

 

Three of the four cats in question were brought to the lower court

premises in cages for inspection by witnesses, the accused and

counsel.

 

In many other similar animal neglect cases, the offenders pleaded

guilty when charged and immediately paid the fine.

 

Abdul Rashid's case is a rare one, as he is contesting the charges.

 

When he was charged on Oct 28, Abdul Rashid pleaded guilty but when he

was shown photographs of the felines, he denied they were in that

condition when taken from his house.

 

The three cats are said to be suffering from conjunctivitis and

alopecic skin (baldness) on their bodies and tail. One of the two

males died on Oct 4.

 

Under Section 44(1)(d) of the Animals Ordinance 1953, Abdul Rashid is

liable to be fined not more than RM200 or six months jail, or both.

 

The first witness to testify yesterday was Zairul Hisham Abu Hassan,

an enforcement assistant from the Veterinary Services Department, who

rescued the felines from Abdul Rashid's house.

 

Testifying under examination in-chief by Veterinary Services

prosecuting officer Tee Thian See, the witness said that about 12.30pm

on Sept 21, he went to a house at 65, Jalan Wan Malini 1, Sri

Petaling, after the department received a complaint about cruelty to

cats.

 

The complaint was from a member of the public.

 

Tee: Who was at home then?

 

Witness: Faizul Azhar Khusairy, 24, Abdul Rashid's son.

 

Tee: What did you do there?

 

Witness: I inspected the 30 cats, and found that four of them, two

males and two females, had a serious eye condition.

 

Tee: What did you do then?

 

Witness: Since I was told that there were no medical records for the

cats, I told Faizul that an offence of neglect under the Animals

Ordinance 1953 had been committed.

 

Zairul said he then recorded Faizul's details in the inspection form,

took six photographs of the cats, and proceeded to the Sri Petaling

police station to lodge a report.

 

The witness said he then brought the cats back to the department for treatment.

 

Under cross-examination by counsel Robert Devan, Zairul said he only

received instructions from his superior to go to Abdul Rashid's house,

but he did not know who lodged the complaint, or when it was done.

 

Robert: Where were the cats placed?

 

Witness: In a specially built room, attached to the side of the house.

 

Robert: Did you inspect all the cats, one by one?

 

Witness: No, I did a random inspection.

 

Robert: What did you do after singling out the four cats?

 

Witness: I told Faizul that by looking at the cats, it was obvious

that they had been neglected.

 

Robert: Are you medically qualified to determine that the four cats

were suffering from skin and eye ailment?

 

Witness: No.

 

Trial before magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali continues today.

 

 

 

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Law needs more bite to curb animal abuse

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24:

 

Three cases of animal neglect by their owners were brought to court this year.

 

Offenders are usually charged under the Animal Ordinance 1953 which

provides for a maximum fine of RM200 or a jail term not exceeding six

months.

 

Animal lovers and the SPCA have recently called for amendments to the

Ordinance, providing for stiffer penalties to those convicted of

neglecting or abusing their pets.

 

But while this is being pushed for by the animal lovers, they are also

going after owners who abuse and neglect their animals.

 

Below are several cases of abuse, neglect and cruelty to animals which

reached Malaysian courts:

 

* On Oct 20, 2005, at the Tumpat magistrate's court in Kelantan,

factory worker Ang Chun Tan, 22, was fined RM7,000 under the Wildlife

Protection Act 1972, for possessing the carcass of a tiger. The

authorities found the remains of the tiger chopped up and stored in a

refrigerator.

 

* On Oct 17, 2005, engineer, Lien Chong San, 46, was fined RM100 by

the Shah Alam magistrate's court after he pleaded guilty to neglecting

his seven-year-old German Shepherd. The dog named Sheena was found

abandoned at a house in Subang Jaya and her body was full of fleas.

The place was filthy with faeces all around the animal when it was

found. Sheena was put to sleep by the authorities.

 

* At the Banting magistrate's court last June, salesman Choong Foo

Meng, 42, claimed trial to a charge of negligence and failure to take

care of three dogs under his care.

 

The canines are alleged to have attacked nine-year-old Muhammad Hazman

Seh Zahidi, who received 180 stitches in the incident on March 18 in

Taman Putra Perdana.

 

* On June 10, 2004, the Klang magistrate's court sentenced mini-market

owner Chiew Shwe Lee, 44, to a day's jail and fined him RM150, after

he pleaded guilty to hurting his one-year-old dachshund named Tim.

 

* On June 8, 2004, dog breeder Lau Choo Kee, 46, was fined RM200 for

ill-treating 13 dogs under his care, until they had to be treated for

skin diseases.

 

* On Dec 30, 2004, the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court sentenced

businesswoman Yap Quan Lan, 39, to a three-day jail term and RM200

fine for neglecting her dog.

 

A team from the SPCA and the Cheras animal department enforcement

division had gone to Yap's house in Jalan Serendit, Taman Bukit

Maluri, Kepong, and found her dog chained to a palm tree in front of

her home