Apart from their names, IC numbers and addresses, Perhilitan has also been told to provide documents proving that the said officers or individuals were involved in shooting the endangered primates.

“The defendants have 14 days from today to file an affidavit giving us all the documents that the court has ordered them to produce,” said lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, who is representing the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Nurul Azreen Sultan, a resident at Taman Raja Zainal where the culling occurred, and wildlife rights NGO Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup).

Perhilitan came under fire from the public last year for culling the primates at the Seri Sentosa education quarters area at Batu 2½ Jalan Pantai, Port Dickson, on May 19. While social media reports said 20 monkeys were culled, Perhilitan said only seven were killed.

The department said it had to resort to such action as it had received eight reports regarding attacks on humans, the most serious being a woman who had sustained serious head injuries.

However, Nurul and Hidup said that checks with local hospitals found no patient who sustained such injuries.

Perhilitan also said it had unsuccessfully conducted operations to capture the animals using traps, adding that culling was the best approach to address wildlife conflicts in the area after considering issues such as its proximity to a residential area.