A Judiciary Police (PJ) officer has paid a fine of 35,000 patacas for mistreating his dog, but does not face criminal charges, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) announced on Thursday.
According to the Macau Post Daily, the announcement was made during a press conference by the bureau which marked the first year since the Animal Protection Law took effect, the first of its kind in Macau.
According to the bureau, the officer’s dog-abusing case was classified as an administrative offence for mistreatment of an animal. If the case had been classified as animal cruelty, the officer would have faced criminal procedures.
According to the Animal Protection Law, the mistreatment of an animal carries a fine of between 20,000 and 100,000 patacas, whereas animal cruelty is punishable by imprisonment of up to one year.
In January, the policeman was filmed mistreating his dog on the terrace of his home in Taipa by somebody living nearby. The footage, which went viral on various social media such as Facebook and was also telecast by local government-owned broadcaster TDM several times, shows the officer kicking, beating and throwing the dog around.
The officer, surnamed Weng, later issued a public apology on his Facebook page. Apart from paying the fine, he also has been subjected to disciplinary action and was openly reprimanded by Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak.
Meanwhile, the bureau also announced that 517 people have been fined for failing to licence their dogs since the new law took effect.
According to the press conference, about 14,800 dogs are currently licensed, while at least another 15,000 canines are estimated to be still unlicensed.
Since the law took effect, two animal cruelty cases and two mistreatment cases have been confirmed by the bureau, according to the press conference.
