Sarawak police have initiated investigations into a Facebook user that issued a death threat targeted at the State Veterinary Services Department via their page on the social media site for their activities vaccinating stray dogs and cats.
Criminal investigations chief Datuk Dev Kumar told reporters that officials are taking the matter seriously, and that the prevention of civil servants doing their job would not be tolerated. FYI – it’s against the law, people.
In a statement, Dev reported that the page’s intention of saving stray dogs throughout the state was being corrupted by violent and militant individuals who were calling for violent acts to be committed against the vets and animals alike.
Some Muslims see dogs as unclean, and have strong opinions against canines, with a small number going as far as violence. However, many scholars point to early Islamic literature characterizing dogs as symbols of self-sacrifice and loyalty. One would certainly be hard pressed to find justification for wanting to murder vets doing their jobs.
One step forward in 2018, and a million steps back for the kind of people who don’t respect the fact that these are vets doing the dogs and public a service.
Last year, several young children died in the state after being bitten by stray dogs carrying the rabies virus. A young boy remains in hospital after having been bitten in August. He is on life support with a bleak outlook. The current operation will take in stray cats and dogs, vaccinate them against the virus, and ensure that no other children fall victim to the deadly disease, of which there is no cure once symptoms set in.
Police added that each comment was being looked at and that several were identified as being criminal in nature. One user suggested killing out the government personnel involved in the operation, while another suggested creating a road block to capture the strays and kill them.
Here’s a thought: wouldn’t it be incredible if we could channel all of this free time and initiative that people have on their hands, and put it towards something positive, like building homes for the poor, or just helping others? It WOULD be incredible.
On Thursday, the State Veterinary Services had enough of the threats and filed a police report against several of the comments on their Facebook page.
Police are warning against any further threats, and have told the public that one user in particular would be investigated.
If there was ever an example to be made for how police deal with genuine garbage behavior, this seems like a good one.
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