KUALA LUMPUR – The owner of Rocky, the dog whose death has sparked public outrage, has alleged that four men unlawfully entered a neighbour’s property, dragged the frightened animal from beneath a parked car and brutally beat him to death before local council officers arrived.
Speaking at a press conference today, Roghini Devi recounted the events leading up to Rocky’s death, saying eyewitnesses told her the men forced their way into her neighbour’s compound, where the dog had sought shelter.
According to Roghini, Rocky had run into the neighbour’s house and was hiding beneath a parked car. The neighbour, who regularly fed and cared for the dog, had not objected to his presence.
“One of my neighbours told me that four men went into the house to get Rocky. He was hiding under the car because he was scared,” she said.
She alleged the men first tried to drag Rocky out before beating him repeatedly with wooden sticks, an iron rod and a PVC pipe.
“They hit his body and head until he defecated. After that, they tightened two ropes around his neck and pulled so hard that his tongue came out. Witnesses believed Rocky had already died before I reached the scene,” she alleged.
Roghini said Rocky had been part of her family since Aug 8, 2024, and was raised as a house pet, spending most of his time indoors with her children and accompanying the family wherever they went.
Recalling the day of the incident, she said she noticed two men on a motorcycle carrying what appeared to be dog-catching equipment as she was leaving to pick up one of her children.
“I told my husband because I felt something wasn’t right,” she said.
Her husband, Narendran, later found groups of people gathered around the neighbourhood searching for dogs, but Rocky had already wandered out of the house.
While Roghini was away, Narendran was told by a nearby burger seller that a child had allegedly been chased by a dog elsewhere in the neighbourhood and taken to hospital. However, she claimed the woman confirmed Rocky was not the dog involved.
“My husband specifically asked whether Rocky was the dog involved, and she said no. She told him the incident happened in another area and Rocky was not the dog that chased the child,” Roghini said.
Believing Rocky may have been captured by the local council, the family planned to retrieve him. Instead, Roghini returned to find a crowd gathered outside her home and Rocky restrained with ropes around his neck.
“I wanted to hug him and carry him, but he didn’t even respond. He didn’t look at me at all. I knew something was terribly wrong,” she said.
Roghini said she repeatedly pleaded with the men to release Rocky, assuring them she would personally hand him over, even though she admitted he was unlicensed.
“I told them I wasn’t stopping them from taking Rocky. I admitted I was wrong for not getting a licence. I only asked them to let go so I could hand him over myself, but they refused,” she said.
She said she asked her child to bring a pair of scissors to cut the rope, but a knife was brought instead.
Roghini alleged members of the public prevented them from freeing Rocky and that she was pulled away and struck with a baton-like object when she tried to intervene.
Distraught, she said she even threatened to harm herself if she was not allowed to save her dog.
“I was desperate. I said if they wouldn’t let me save Rocky, I would kill myself.
“Someone responded by saying, ‘Go ahead. If you die together with the dog, it’s even better for us,'” she alleged.
Roghini claimed officers from the Klang Royal City Council (MBDK) arrived five to 10 minutes later, by which time Rocky had already died.
“When they finally released the rope, Rocky was already dead,” she said.
She further alleged that the rope used was not standard equipment and contained a steel cable.
Following Rocky’s death, Roghini claimed many of those at the scene dispersed.
She said she later contacted the police but was disappointed that officers initially focused on Rocky’s lack of a licence rather than the circumstances surrounding his death.
Roghini subsequently lodged a police report and submitted videos of the incident, along with eyewitness accounts and other evidence, to an animal welfare organisation in the hope that a thorough investigation would be carried out.
Earlier today, the Klang Royal City Council (MBDK) said the stray dog capture operation at Taman Teluk Gedung Indah, Port Klang, on July 29 was conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures issued by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT).
MBDK mayor Datuk Abd Hamid Hussain said the night operation complied with the ministry’s guidelines, including the use of approved loop equipment that met the required safety standards. – August 5, 2026