Local animal protection group Anima President Albano Martins said on Sunday that he had been questioned by the police for sharing a video on social media showing a local police officer abusing his dog earlier this year.
Martins made the remarks during a phone interview with The Macau Post Daily on Sunday.
On January 17, a Judiciary Police (PJ) officer was filmed abusing his dog on the terrace of his home by somebody living nearby. The footage, which went viral on various social media such as Facebook and was also shown by local government-owned broadcaster TDM, shows the officer kicking, beating and throwing the dog around.
On the same day, Martins shared the video on Anima’s and his personal Facebook pages denouncing the abuse.
Martins said he was initially asked to assist the investigation as a witness in the case, and thus went to the PJ headquarters on Thursday. According to Martins, it turned out that he’s being accused of alleged breach of the Personal Data Protection Law.
“The police did not tell me that I could be sued [after] I declared everything, thinking that I was assisting [the] investigation as a witness,” Martins said, adding that it was “unfair” for the police to do that.
However, Martins insisted that Anima continued to maintain a good relationship with the police.
Martins said he did not think that he was breaking the law when he posted the video. “I did not mention the abuser’s name or address, and the footage was filmed in low quality so the abuser’s face cannot be seen clearly,” he pointed out.
The abuser revealed himself to the public by posting a video on Facebook apologising two days after the incident.
Martins said he did not regret having shared the video, and would do the same again if it showed any animal abuse.
“It is my duty as Anima’s president to educate the general public that this kind of behaviour towards animals is unacceptable.”
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
