A video showing a purported assault by officers from Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) on an elderly man and his pet dogs has gained widespread attention online.
The incident, which occurred a few nights ago on Jalan 18/17 Taman Kanagapuram, was initially shared on Facebook and has since been circulated on WhatsApp.
According to the account of a resident in the area, the altercation involved six to seven MBPJ officers who allegedly assaulted the elderly man. The footage has raised concerns about the conduct of the officers.
“The officer was threatening and using an iron rod to hit the old man when he tried to block them from capturing and injuring his dogs.
“I told them this is not the right way to carry out their duties, and the officer responded, ‘kita government, memang begini buat kerja’ (we are government officers, this is how we do our work).
“Not one person in their team questioned or stopped the other officer from violating the old uncle who was all alone when the incident took place,” the resident wrote.
As per the resident’s statement, the elderly man claimed that the officers did not clarify their purpose and neglected to show any official identification before assaulting him. This resulted in injuries to his wrist and a swollen jaw.
“I have seen this uncle and his dogs for years. He brings them all out for a walk twice a day and takes good care of them by feeding them and providing shelter at his own expense.
“These dogs are harmless, and even if mistakes were committed by (the uncle), physically or verbally abusing anyone in the name of power is a hard no.
“This is a classic example of power abuse in the name of duty. Hooligans in the name of government officers,” the resident added.
The Vibes has verified that the 69-year-old man has filed a police report at a station on Jalan Klang Lama and submitted CCTV footage as evidence.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung has urged the MBPJ to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the incident and any possible violation of enforcement personnel’s code of conduct.
“More fundamentally, we have to review the standard operating procedures when dealing with community cats and dogs,” the PKR lawmaker told The Vibes.
“As mentioned by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysia Madani concept requires us to treat animals respectfully and justly.”
He also said that the possibility of the elderly citizen violating any laws “does not warrant the alleged physical assault” and confirmed that PJ residents are required to obtain dog permits that must be renewed annually.
Besides that, DAP’s PJ city councillor Nalina Nair told The Vibes that the incident “should not have happened”, noting that MBPJ’s Health Department has started an investigation and will be releasing a statement soon.
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