PETALING JAYA, Feb 22 — A 25-year-old man was arrested after a video of him abusing a poodle on a condominium balcony in Setapak went viral on Facebook. 

He was detained on Friday after police and animal rights activists inspected his home. Two poodles and a Pomeranian were rescued. 

The 30-second video, which was posted on the Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) Facebook page on Thursday, showed the man repeatedly beating and choking a brown poodle, as well as throwing the animal in the air.

According to the online post, the video was uploaded 30 minutes after the incident and a police report was lodged by MIAR the same day. The video has since garnered more than 47,000 shares with many comments from angry netizens demanding justice.

A police spokesman said Setapak police, MIAR and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) moved in on the man at about 7.30pm on Friday.

The dogs are now under the care of DVS. 

A Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue spokesman said the owner admitted to the abuse after police showed him the video. 

MIAR has since made a five-minute video documenting the abuse and the rescue. 

A posting with the video said: “Initially, we had a lot of problems with the police until their superior, Setapak station chief Asst Supt Wee Bee Seng, took over and helped us out.

“That very night (Thursday) we went to the wrong unit as it was difficult to trace which unit it was from the video. A Good Samaritan helped us out and we located the unit from another apartment."

Wangsa Maju police chief Supt Mohd Roy Suhaimi Sarif confirmed the arrest.

The case is being investigated under Section 429 of the Penal Code for maiming animals. The suspect's remand ends today.