A 15-year-old Malaysian boy is being investigated over a video that apparently showed him battering a puppy, a district police chief said today.

The 50-second video posted on Facebook showed the boy smiling at the camera as he held the dog by its tail and swung it several times, throwing it into the air and then failing to catch it before it hit the ground. The animal appeared to be lifeless, commenters said.

Police Superintendent Hamzah Alias said the boy was questioned and released a few hours later, while his case is being evaluated by the prosecutor's office.

“Our focus is to correct, and therefore we would perhaps have him under the supervision of a welfare officer,” Alias told The Star newspaper.

Puspa Rani, president of Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR), led the police to the boy’s home in the state of Negri Sembilan, about 85 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur.

“I want what’s best for the boy and he also needs to realise that - even if he has family problems,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “He should not have done what he did to this innocent pup.”

Puspa said the boy was scheduled to appear before a court in 14 days.

“I’m going to ask the judge to sentence him to community service in an MIAR shelter,” she said. “Our dogs can teach him a lot about love and we hope the judge allows that or else he gets a away with the RM200 (US$62.50) fine.”

The video enraged viewers, with many demanding the boy be arrested and face criminal charges.

- dpa