A Singaporean man has plead guilty to animal abuse, and was subsequently given an RM8,000 (US$2,000) fine in lieu of eight-months jail for an offense committed in Puchong last April.
Fifty-seven-year-old Yee Kok Chew was charged in August 2017 with abusing a brown and white neighborhood dog, Furby, and initially intended to enter an innocent plea. However, today he told a magistrate’s court that he was guilty of the offense.
CCTV footage from the incident went viral last year, and caused widespread furor among netizens who demanded that the abuser be tracked down and charged. Yee can be clearly seen on camera grabbing the dog, and repeatedly punching him in the face.
Yee plead guilty to hitting Furby at 8:49pm on April 2, in a residential area of Puchong. His lawyer asked the magistrate to exercise leniency, saying that his client was in fact, dog-friendly, and owns a dog that he “takes good care of.”
Can somebody check on that dog, and confirm?
His lawyer added that the social media scandal had resulted in great distress for his client, and the loss of two franchise business deals. He added that the public outrage had resulted in threats via social media.
Can somebody check to see if anyone else other than Yee, and the lawyer he’s paying, cares about this?
His lawyer added that a veterinary examination of Furby showed that while he suffered bruising, there were no serious physical injuries. No comment of the mental trauma that the poor pup would have suffered.
Yee has since made an RM5,000 (US$1,250) donation to the Paws Animal Welfare Society.
The prosecutor encouraged a tougher sentence, saying that it would discourage both Yee, and the wider public, from committing the gross offense.
Since the incident, Furby was being held by the Department of Veterinary Services, with no visitation allowed by his owners, as per DVS policy. With the conclusion of the trial, he will now be returned to his family.
