KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 ― Singaporean Terry Yee has stepped forward and expressed remorse after being caught on camera thrashing a guard dog in a gated neighbourhood in Puchong, Selangor last Sunday.
Yee said he was an animal lover even as he admitted to brutalising the dog in an interview with TheStarTV, the web broadcast arm of the daily posted today.
“I love dogs. I love animals. I brought this guy all the way from Singapore, spending a lot of money on him through the proper channels,” he said in the interview while holding his pet dog in his lap.
“I have cats, I have dogs, I have fish, I have birds; I just snapped that day,” he added.
Yee came under widespread condemnation from internet users after the 2.43-minute video clip taken from a security camera showed him violently beating up a dog at the security guardhouse after the animal broke free of its leash and surprised him until he fell off his bicycle while riding in.
At one point, he was shown bashing the dog with a motorcycle helmet and was hostile towards the guard who tried to stop him and another passer-by who appeared to question Yee’s action.
In his defence, the Singaporean said he had been attacked several times before he retaliated.
The case is currently under investigation by Serdang police and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
Animal welfare advocacy group Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better posted on its Facebook page yesterday that the guard dog has been taken by the DVS for medical treatment.
It said the DVS will also prosecute as it has “solid evidence”, but added that the “case is now between the residents and the authorities”.
