A 40-year-old administrative clerk pleaded guilty to a charge of animal abuse yesterday (7 September) at the Sessions Court and was fined RM30,000 in default of 10 months of jail.
Oh Ju Lian had abandoned two of her dogs in a vacant house in Tanjung Tokong last year, causing one to die and another was found barely alive after being without food for a week. Poor things!
Photo via Astro Awani
The accused said that the dogs were primarily pets to keep her mother-in-law company.
In tears, Oh admitted that she left the dogs at her former home at Pepper Estate due to events in her life and space constraints at her new home.
The woman and her family had to move to a new home after her mother-in-law got ill due to tuberculosis, while the dogs remained with her mother-in-law as she wanted them around, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.
“Then my mother-in-law died of TB. At the time, we could not bring our dogs to our new home as it was too small,” she said.
Photo via Harian Metro
She added that her spouse was also ill, suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, and asked the court to impose a lenient penalty as her husband had just found a job after being unemployed for a long time.
“My salary is only RM2,000 and I have two children to take care of,” she added.
Roziman Awang Tahrin, deputy public prosecutor said that a deferred sentence should be meted out to serve as a lesson to people who mistreat animals, “When the dogs were found at the home, one of them was barely alive and the other was infested with worms.”
Representing the Penang Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), Roziman added: “It goes to show that they did not care for the dogs in the first place. This case should be used as a lesson to others to not abuse animals.”
Photo via Astro Awani & Free Malaysia Today
Fortunately, the DVS managed to nurse one of the dogs back to good health!
The dog is now placed under the custody of the DVS while Oh was fined RM30,000 for mistreating her dogs.
If you have pets, please take care of them! They, too, need a safe furever home to live the rest of their life feeling loved and happy.
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
