Man In Pahang Dies While Trying To Stop Municipal Officers From Taking Away His Dog
The man lived alone with his pet dog, who he had raised for many years.
By Sadho Ram — 26 May 2023, 11:08 AM — Updated over 1 year ago
A man in Pahang has died after he fell into a drain while trying to protect his pet from Bentong Municipal Council (MPB) dog catchers
The man, identified as 85-year-old Huang Yunhong, was trying to stop the MPB enforcement officers from taking away his pet dog from his residence in Taman Saga, Bentong on Wednesday, 24 May.
He tried to negotiate with the two dog catchers after they caught his pet and tried to take it away. This prompted Huang to hold onto the catch pole to prevent the officers from leaving.
One of Huang's neighbours, known as Ah Xing, said that he asked one of the officers to let go of the pole to prevent Huang from falling, but the officer did not listen, reported Free Malaysia Today.
"During the struggle, Huang suddenly collapsed and fell into a drain. I tried to help him but, unfortunately, he died a few minutes later," the neighbour was reported as saying by the English portal.
Huang had raised the dog for many years
He lived alone with his dog as his children stay in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, New Straits Times reported that prior to the tragedy, Huang was indoors and went outside the house after realising the enforcement team had captured his pet dog at around 5pm.
Following the incident, Bentong member of parliament (MP) Young Syefura Othman urged the Ministry of Local Government Development to come up with clear guidelines for dog-catching operations
"This is to prevent untoward incidents, like misunderstandings, that can lead to even worse incidents and fights between enforcement officers and residents or individuals who feed stray dogs," she said in a Facebook post.
"I have visited the family of the late senior citizen who died during a dog-catching operation in Taman Saga, Bentong, and conveyed my condolences to them. I do not wish to comment further on the incident itself," she added.
