SEREMBAN: Security guard S. Singaravelu is losing hope the authorities will provide justice to the unlawful killing of his licensed dog, Johnny, shot inside the compound of his son’s house in Tampin allegedly by Tampin Municipal Council enforcement officers on Aug 24.”It has been nearly four months and the Tampin Municipal Council seems to be washing their hands off this case,” Singaravelu, 55, told The Malay Mail.

“Last month, I approached the Negri Sembilan Veterinary Services Department for help. A staff at the department listened to my woes patiently for almost two hours. She then advised me to write a letter to both the council and the department to explain my situation as well as to seek justice and compensation for my loss.

“I did that three weeks ago, and my letters to the council and department included my police report which I lodged after my dog was killed. I also sought compensation of RM1,800, including cost of burying Johnny. I am still waiting for a response from both parties.”

Over the past week, The Malay Mail tried to contact the council’s president, Razali Bakar, and council secretary Zulhilmi Marzuki, but to no avail.

Last month, Zulhilmi said a decision on whether the officers involved in the shooting of Johnny had erred would be made by Razali by this month.

Zulhilmi had earlier told The Paper That Cares that a committee comprising three division chiefs, appointed by Razali, was set up to probe Singaravelu’s allegation, and if the officers involved in the operation were found to have gone against the council’s rules, disciplinary action would be taken against them.

The council had, however, forwarded its investigation report to the Tampin Veterinary Department and Tampin District Office for action, too.

But the Tampin Veterinary Department revealed that it did not receive any such document from the council.

However, an officer at the department, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the department carried out an investigation into the matter and that its role in this case was just as an adviser.

“Our department’s regulation states we are not allowed to shoot dogs kept inside the compound of a house. We are also not allowed to shoot licensed dogs. Our investigations found that these officers had informed the dog-shooting team from the other two bodies about the regulations,” the officer told The Malay Mail.

“In fact, our officers even warned them not to shoot when they are about to carry out the act. Despite their best efforts, the shooting went on. I do not know whether their regulations allow them to shoot licensed dogs inside house compounds. We are definitely not involved in the shooting.”

On Aug 24, Singaravelu was dismayed to find Johnny, which he found two years ago at a market near his house at Taman Minang in Tampin, missing.

His suspicion was aroused when he saw three Tampin Municipal Council vehicles leaving the area at about 12.40am that day. He trailed them and when they stopped in Taman Batu Belang, he saw Johnny’s bloodied remains inside one of the vehicles.

The 10 men in the vehicles, one of whom had a gun, refused to let Singaravelu take away Johnny’s carcass, except to remove the dog licence and also allegedly challenged Singaravelu to lodge a police report.

The men also claimed they shot Johnny because of complaints by neighbours.

“I was traumatised and could not stop crying,” Singaravelu had said before lodging a report at Tampin police station.

The next day, he was shocked to find Johnny’s carcass in a jungle near Taman Batu Belang. He then brought the remains back and held a small funeral.

Singaravelu travelled to Ampang in Selangor to meet with officials of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor on Aug 26.

The next day, SPCA animal inspectors Danny Thang and V. Murugan visited him in Tampin to investigate the incident.

Earlier, this is the reason given by the council:

SEREMBAN: There will be more waiting before we know whether the Tampin Municipal Council’s enforcement department has violated regulations by allegedly shooting Johnny, a two-year-old licensed dog, on Aug 24.

The council’s secretary Zulhilmi Marzuki told The Malay Mail yesterday a decision whether the officers involved in the dog-shooting operation had indeed erred was to be made by council president Razali Bakar next month.

“He will be back early next month and only then a decision can be made,” he said, adding that only Razali, who was on his pilgrimage in Mecca, could make a decision.

Zulhilmi had earlier told The Paper That Cares that a committee comprising three division chiefs, appointed by Razali, was set up to probe the allegation, and if the officers involved in the operation were found to had gone against the council’s rules, disciplinary action would be taken against them.

He had also said disciplinary action, if taken, would not involve the other two bodies which were also responsible for executing the dog-shooting orders as both were beyond their jurisdiction.

The council had, however, forwarded their investigation report to the Tampin Veterinary Department and Tampin District Office for their action.

The Veterinary Department revealed they had not received any such document from the council and seemed to have washed their hands off the matter.

A veterinary officer from the department, who asked for anonymity, said the department had carried out internal investigations into the matter.

“Our department’s role in such operations is as an adviser. Our department’s regulation states we are not allowed to shoot dogs kept inside the compound of a house. We are also not allowed to shoot licensed dogs.”

The officer said two of their officers were involved in the dog-shooting operation on Aug 24 and statements had been taken from them.

… The officer said numerous complaints were often received by all three bodies regarding stray dogs in the neighbourhood where Johnny’s owner, S. Singaravelu, stays.

“We received complaints from the neighbourhood of dogs attacking and biting people.”

Its hard to imagine that some things have to wait until the boss comes from the holiday, but it does happen, as in this case. Earlier than that, Singaravelu said that he will pursue his cause for as long as it takes.

S. SINGARAVELU said he will ensure that justice is served to his beloved dog Johnny no matter how long it takes.

“The council is simply dragging the issue. I don’t care if it takes months or even years. I will still pursue this case.”

Singaravelu said three officers from the Tampin district veterinary department visited him about two weeks ago and asked him to retract the police report he had lodged.

“When they asked me to do so, I refused to budge. I asked them whether they admitted to being at fault and they said yes. They also said they will give me a new dog to replace Johnny,” he claimed.

However, a veterinary officer from the department — who asked for anonymity — said they had not asked Singaravelu to retract his police report.

“We did not ask him to retract the report. We just told him it was wrong to include our department’s name in the report as we were not involved with the actual shooting.

“Singaravelu said he did not know as he is illiterate. We did, however, tell him if he is sad with what happened to Johnny, we could get him another dog. To that, he said he will speak to our District Officer about it.

“But when we followed up with him, he refused to speak to our District Officer. We are not sure why.”