Kopi' lawsuit to be decided on Aug 13

Summary

• The Kuala Terengganu High Court will decide on the lawsuit filed by animal activists over the fatal shooting of stray dog Kopi on Aug 13.

• The court dismisses the move to quash the lawsuit by the two defendants, the Besut local council and Terengganu government.

The Kuala Terengganu High Court has dismissed the Besut local council and state government’s application to strike out a lawsuit by animal rights activists over the fatal shooting of stray dog Kopi.

Animal rights lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan told Malaysiakini that the matter will be decided on Aug 13 after the court hears the case on its merits.

"We are pleased that the Kuala Terengganu High Court has decided to dismiss the defendants’ application.

"This is a huge win for animal rights in Malaysia generally and a positive first step to obtain justice for Kopi who was murdered in cold blood," he said.

On Dec 10, animal rights activists Kartini Farah Abd Rahim, S Mukunnan, Hong Hai San, and S Shashi Kumar filed the originating summons before the Kuala Terengganu High Court.

The plaintiffs are seeking a civil court declaration that Kopi’s killing contravened provisions under the Animal Welfare Act 2015.

Before the same civil court, the Besut local council and Terengganu government filed to quash the activists’ lawsuit.

The two defendants contended that the civil action is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process and, thus ought to be struck out without hearing of its merits.

Last October, the social media account My Forever Doggo, in a post on Instagram, claimed that residents saw a local council representative allegedly shooting Kopi during an operation on Oct 6.

The killing of Kopi sparked outrage after videos depicting the stray dog playing with kittens surfaced online.

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