PETALING JAYA – A total of 11 complaints over stray dogs, from the same street where a senior citizen was allegedly assaulted during a dog-catching operation, were received by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) over three years.
It is learnt that over the period, a total of 16 complaints were lodged by residents over stray dogs in the Taman Kanagapuram area.
Of the 16 complaints, 11 involved incidents at Jalan 18/17, which is where Patrick Khoo Khian Wui, 69, claims that he was physically assaulted by MBPJ officer Azizul Azzim Norehan on March 22.
The crackdown conducted by the disturbance unit under MBPJ’s health and environmental services department was the city council’s follow-up action to a complaint submitted two days prior.
The operation saw Khoo suffering a bruised jaw and scratches on his arm after allegedly being hit with a catching pole.
“The operation was conducted by representatives of the department and involved eight personnel,” a source told The Vibes.
MBPJ is requesting the original CCTV recording and any digital forensics report from the police (force),” the source added.
Some of the previous complaints along the street include a pedestrian being chased by a stray dog while another complainant had claimed he was nearly bitten by a stray canine.
It is learnt that MBPJ’s dog-catching operations in Taman Kanagapuram have led to the capture of about 40 dogs since 2020.
Last week, Khoo pleaded not guilty to a charge of obstructing Azizul from performing his duties. The senior citizen’s legal counsel has also considered appealing to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to have the charges dropped.
The charge was framed under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing public servants in the discharge of their functions.
If found guilty, Khoo faces a jail term of up to two years, a maximum fine of RM10,000, or both.
It was previously reported that a resident who witnessed the incident had taken to social media to pan the enforcement officers for their alleged heavy-handedness, and videos of the incident have sparked outrage among netizens and rights groups.
While MBPJ said that an internal investigation committee had been set up to probe into the incident, police authorities later said that no charges under Section 323 of the Penal Code would be brought against Azizul over his apparent role in the altercation. – The Vibes, April 4, 2023
