Magistrate Mohamad Ikhwan Mohd Nasir passed the sentence on Yee Kok Chew, 57, after he changed his plea to guilty when the charge was read to him in English.
He had earlier claimed trial and the hearing was scheduled to begin today.
Yee was charged with acting cruelly by repeatedly hitting the white-chocolate male mongrel named Furby with a crash helmet, thus hurting and causing suffering to the dog, at the security guardhouse in Jalan BK6 E/4 (1), Taman Melody, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, at 8.49pm, on April 2, 2017.
He was charged under Section 44(1)(a) of the Animals Act 1953 (Revised 2006) and read together with the Animals Act (Amendment 2013), which provides for a fine of up to RM50,000 or a jail term not exceeding one year, or both.
Yee paid the fine.
Earlier, Yee’s counsel, Jerald Gomez, had asked for a light sentence as the dog was not seriously injured and was currently healthy and active.
“After a video clip of the incident went viral, the accused lost his franchise business licence and he also apologised for his action against the dog,” said Gomez.
However, deputy public prosecutor Nabilah Mohammad Zanudin, who is from the Veterinary Services Department, asked for an appropriate sentence as a deterrent to the accused and the public, saying the offence was serious.
During the proceedings, the court could hear a dog barking nearby. Nabilah told the court that the dog had been brought to court today. The magistrate then asked to see the dog, which was brought into the courtroom by a veterinary officer.
According to the facts of the case, a recording of the incident on a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) had gone viral after it was posted on the Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue Facebook page.
The video showed a dog being repeatedly hit with a crash helmet by a man at a housing area in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong.
On April 6 last year, veterinary officers visited the guardhouse where they saw a male mongrel and a crash helmet as seen in the CCTV recording.