'We have nothing to do with case of dead dogs ' - Mosque chairman

SEREMBAN, Jan 7 (Betrnama) -- The management of Masjid Ibnu Khaldun in Taman Lavender Heights near here have stressed that they are not involved in the deaths of several dogs,  believed to have been poisoned,  in the housing estate which went viral recently.

The mosque’s chairman Mohd Asna Amin also reiterated that he had nothing to do with the issue and had referred the case to the police for investigation.

"I firmly state that this does not directly affect the mosque and has nothing to do with me, I only knew about the incident of the dead dogs after it went viral recently ... so I am leaving to the police to conduct the investigation,” he added.

There  was a picture of a dog eating food laced with poison taken in 2018 and another picture of a dog that died on Jan 5,  but  it was impossible for a dog that consumed poison last year to die so recently, Mohd Asna told a press conference here today.

He added that while the issue of wild dogs roaming in the mosque vicinity was a longstanding issue and  had become increasingly serious last year, the mosque had only taken action by complaining to the local authorities and the Veterinary Department.

"Many complaints have been made and we are still waiting for the authorities to take action … the wild dogs are at the mosque and they chase children and the tahfiz students in the area," he said.

Meanwhile, Paroi state assemblyman Mohamad Taufek Abd Ghani said the public should not link the incident to racial or religious issues

"What is important is how we maintain solidarity among the people. I understand that there are  difficulties in dealing with the wild dog issue because we talked with non-governmental organisations who objected to it, but we must ensure that no children are bitten by the dogs as it could lead to diseases,” he said.

--BERNAMA