Although it doesn’t happen often, it isn’t unusual for animals, particularly cats, to wander into convenience stores. From time to time, however, there have been more surprising encounters with wild or rare creatures, though these are usually harmless. Over the weekend, an Asian palm civet was spotted entering a myNEWS outlet in Dang Wangi.
In most cases, when an animal enters a shop, staff will try to carefully guide it back outside without causing harm. Unfortunately, that was not the case here, as the small mammal was allegedly killed during the process, leaving customers who witnessed the incident deeply distressed. Here’s what happened (Viewer’s discretion is advised):
Content creator Heeshlee shared a video last Friday (15th August) of an incident he witnessed at the Dang Wangi LRT station on his way to an event. In the original video, he claimed that myNEWS staff had chased a palm civet out of the store, but even after it had exited, they continued to pursue the animal and allegedly beat it to death, despite passers-by shouting at them to stop.
In a follow-up explanation video, the influencer recounted what he had witnessed, explaining that he had stopped by the store to buy a drink when he noticed a couple of staff members trying to chase something out. At first, he thought little of it as both the staff and the animal left the outlet. However, he then heard shouting from outside, with a man urging them to stop killing the civet.
“The staff showed no remorse. They didn’t say anything. They were smiling after it was dead,” he said, adding that he later contacted myNEWS about the incident. He also attempted to reach the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), but no one answered, presumably due to Friday prayers. For context, the palm civet is a gentle species protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, meaning that killing one without PERHILITAN’s intervention could carry legal consequences.
After the videos went viral, myNEWS faced heavy backlash from the public. The company issued an apology the same day, stating that an investigation is underway. “myNEWS does not condone any act of cruelty towards animals. Our two staff members involved have been reprimanded, and a thorough investigation is currently underway. We are also taking immediate steps to ensure this never happens again,” the statement read.
Netizens, however, were less forgiving. Many continued to criticise the myNEWS staff for killing an innocent and gentle animal, while others argued that a mere reprimand was too lenient. Some called for PERHILITAN and the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to be involved in the investigation.
Watch the viral videos below:
@heeshlee Omw to event, stop by mynews. Tengok staff #Mynewsmalaysia tengah halau musang sesat… ok. Benda tu dah lari keluar, and they chase after it with hard objects just to hit it sampai setengah mati!!! Ada pakcik jerit2 ckp jgn bunuh, staff diaorg senyum weh bangga! 😡😡 #LrtDangWangi @myNEWSMalaysia #animalcruelty
♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs – Skittlegirl Sound
@heeshlee Replying to @Rarara
