SOCIAL MEDIA has unleashed its ugly side to businessman Leong Chan when a photograph of a stray cat ‘hanging’ behind a truck he was driving went viral to an extent that his family and friends are now hounded by well-meaning netizens on the pretext of animal abuse.
The age-old adage that the picture tells a thousand words couldn’t be truer to Leong except that it told the opposite side, ie that of a tied cat been dragged behind Leong’s vehicle.
It went on to depict animal abuse when in reality, the Ipoh-based Leong was actually trying to save the feline.
The entire ordeal started earlier this week when the mother cat was captured by Leong after two days of searching for it because he was compelled to neuter the domesticated animal which had given birth to several kittens, of which some were found dead in his landed home in Simpang Ampat in mainland Penang.
Leong alternates between his homes in Ipoh and Simpang Ampat of which the latter has become a favourite hang-out for stray cats.
During Leong’s recent return to Penang, he found several dead kittens which he traced to one particular female stray cat.
“We found kittens dead not once but twice over the past several months. I decided that the best approach was to spay the cat but I needed to nab it first,” he said when met at his Penang home.
On Tuesday (Aug 6), he netted the mother cat and tied a noose (similar to a dog collar chain) around its neck of the to prevent it from escaping while he made an appointment the next day to send it to a nearby private veterinary clinic which is only 1.5km way from his home.
@DVSMalaysia plate number dah ada tu pic.twitter.com/Vh8rSlky8T
— krystyna slusarczyk’s no.1 fan (@ninashakirax) August 8, 2024
Macam ni la authority buat kerja https://t.co/ZpOzkjNFdX https://t.co/Oj9VfjPQdF pic.twitter.com/8MZkUSSSoh
— Stray Free Foundation (@StrayFreeFndn) August 9, 2024
Harassment by netizens
Leong subsequently placed the cat inside a basket in the trunk of his friend’s Daniel Khoo’s four-wheel drive (4WD) and drove to the clinic.
Along the way, the cat creeped out and tried to run away but the noose around its neck prevented it from doing so as it crawled out of the truck.
This was when a passer-by snapped the photograph of the cat tied to the noose been dragged behind the trunk of the 4WD with the number plate fully visible.
It went viral on numerous social media platforms within minutes under the eye-catching subject of animal cruelty.
“The noose was not tight in reality. It was placed gently on the neck just to prevent the cat from running off until it was spayed,” clarified Leong who only discovered that the cat was outside of the truck upon arriving at the clinic and rushed it for treatment.
The car is alive and on the road to recovery. After having lodged a police report to clear the air, Leong was asked to place the cat under the care of the state veterinary services department in Seberang Jaya.
Leong’s clarion call for help came after netizens managed to track down Khoo who is the owner of the truck and began abusing him online.
When it emerged that Leong was the actual driver, his family was also targeted with his young son berated by his maid for the alleged animal abuse by Leong.
Despite the police coming out to clarify the situation as the photograph has since gone viral, Leong and his family continue to be abused online.
The veterinarian who treated the female stray cat has also cautioned Leong to clear the misconception surrounding the feline.
“I agreed that I was rather careless about placing the car inside the basket and didn’t secure it well until the cat managed to get out,” admitted thew businessman. “I thought it was just a few minutes’ drive and the 4kg basket would be adequate.”
Leong said he needed the media to highlight his case as social media has painted the wrong perception of the entire episode.
Police through the Nibong Tebal district police head Supt Chong Boo Khim has clarified that an alleged act of cat cruelty may not be the case as it initially appeared.
Chong said the aggrieved person has clarified the matter with the police through a police report and confirmed that a few reports were also lodged against him for alleged animal abuse.
“He took the cat to be spayed at a nearby clinic. On the way, he was unaware that the cat which he had placed behind his four-wheel vehicle had attempted to jump out and was left hanging by a leash tied around its neck,” confirmed Chong in a statement.
“It was only upon reaching the clinic that he noticed the situation and immediately removed the leash.”
While Leong may yet face a charge of neglect of an animal, he just wants the truth to be told and for his friend Khoo and his family to be left out of any more intimidation. – Aug 10, 2024.
