A week after a video showing his father allegedly dragging a dog behind his vehicle which led to its death went viral on social media, the son of Heng Kee Roasted Pork’s owner has finally broken his silence over the controversy.
In a lengthy Facebook post written yesterday (June 6), Shi Shanwen (transliteration) decided to give his side of the story along with further details over what actually happened after the scandal broke.
Listed 5 reasons for not speaking out
In the post, Shi began by apologising profusely to netizens for his late response and listed down five reasons why he chose not to give a public statement when the matter first surfaced:
- He wasn’t at the scene when the incident happened and didn’t want to say anything inaccurate
- Not everything was what everyone saw
- While he admitted that his father was wrong, he denied accusations that he was a dog abuser
- He wanted public anger to die down a little so that they could allow him to give his side of the story
- His father lodged a police report on the day of the incident and had no intention of absolving responsibility
What actually happened
Shi then went on to recount what took place on the day of the now infamous dog dragging incident.
That day, all of us weren’t around and my father wanted to transport the dog to another farm after it attacked the other dogs. He tried putting it into the vehicle but the dog resisted and even growled at him, forcing him to give up on the idea entirely.
“My father isn’t highly educated and thought that chaining it to the back of the vehicle and dragging it to the other farm was the best method,” he explained.
It wasn’t until a group of Indian men stopped Shi’s father from driving further did he realise that the dog’s legs were injured.
‘He loves dogs’
After the incident, Shi said his father went to the police station on his own accord and was later released on bail.
“After he was released, he went to bury the dog and didn’t leave its body at an unmarked grave as certain parties alleged.
“Despite the harsh remarks thrown at him by netizens, my father still went on feeding the dogs at his farm, something that everyone at the village can confirm,” he said.
Shi also wrote that while he acknowledged that his father was indeed in the wrong, he insisted that he was no animal abuser.
“Half of the dogs at my father’s farm were abandoned by their previous owners and he insisted on taking care of them despite his poor health.
“He’s also diabetic and was admitted to the hospital after injuring himself in a fall and now has to seek treatment at the hospital every week. However, he still continued to take care of the dogs and help me out in the business. If that’s the case, where does he have the energy to abuse dogs?”
Accused Indian men of not coming to dog’s aid
Shi then turned his attention towards the Indian men who prevented his father from driving his vehicle and accused them of not helping the injured dog.
When you stopped my father, why didn’t you send the dog for treatment? Instead, why are all of you banding together to gang up on an old man?
Toward the end of the post, Shi wrote that he has consulted his lawyers and lodged a police report to deal with those who sent threatening messages or purposely smeared his reputation.
What do you think of Shi’s explanation? Let us know in the comments!
Read more about the incident here:
