KUALA LUMPUR: An animal rights group is asking the High Court here to review a decision by the attorney-general not to take action on the perpetrator of an alleged torture of baby long-tailed macaques.
Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) says the AG’s decision to classify the case as requiring “no further action” (NFA) was unreasonable.
The group claims an investigating officer told Hidup member Dr Kartini Farah Abdul Rahim that the suspect had admitted to torturing monkeys during investigations.
The probe was triggered by a police report lodged by Kartini after a video of the “torture” incident went viral on social media.
“The AG did not act on the police report to charge the suspect despite his admission,” she said in her affidavit filed to support her application for leave, adding that the man was instead released by the authorities.
Hidup wants the court to review the AG’s decision not to prosecute the suspect. The group wants the court to quash his classification of the case as “NFA”, and to direct that he pursues criminal charges against the suspect.
The police report was filed in January, after a tip-off from US-based animal rights organisation Lady Freethinker and its British-based counterpart, Action for Primates.
The suspect is alleged to have recorded the torture of the primates and sold the footage on a Telegram group named “Monkey Haters”, which charges a fee to subscribers who wish to watch such videos in full.
On April 5, Shah Alam criminal investigation department (CID) director Shukri Ayob confirmed the AGC’s decision to classify the report as “NFA”.
His letter stated that the investigation papers were referred to the deputy public prosecutor’s office on March 30.