Indonesian man arrested for shooting neighbor’s dog to death, says it was payback for making his wife and child fall off bike

Police in the Indonesian city of Tangerang have arrested a 43-year-old man, who police have identified by his initial A, for what he described as an act of vengeance against a neighbor’s dog.

According to news reports and a viral social media post about the incident, which took place on Monday, A shot the dog with an air rifle four times at close range, killing the dog. The incident was reportedly witnessed by children in the neighborhood, but A allegedly paid them no mind.

The dog’s owner, a man named Titus, was not at home during the incident. His sister in law, named Anastasia, confronted A at his house soon after the shooting, but A allegedly threatened her by pointing the rifle at her.

Titus reported A to the Tangerang Police on Tuesday. A was apprehended by the police on Tuesday evening and was taken in for questioning. According to police, A confessed to shooting the dog and said he did it because the dog made his wife and child fall off a bike prior to the shooting.

“His wife and child fell off a bike because they thought the dog was going to chase them,” Tangerang Police Chief Sabilul Alif told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Kumparan.

However Sabilul made clear that dog, whose name was Beedo, couldn’t have actually been chasing A’s wife and child because it was tied to a tree.

No charges have been made against A and Detik reported that he was allowed to go home yesterday while the police question more witnesses.

Animal abuse is generally not considered to be a serious offense in Indonesia. Under the Criminal Code, animal abuse that leads to the death of the animal is a crime only punishable by up to nine months’ imprisonment, as well as a minuscule IDR300 (US$0.02) fine. Animal rights activists have long called for a revision to the law, which was drawn up during the Dutch colonial era, to introduce harsher punishments to prevent animal cruelty.

However, the police have hinted that A may be charged with unlawful use of a firearm, which carries more severe penalties.

Also read: Indonesian cat eater charged with animal abuse, says he ‘thought it was a rabbit’