SEREMBAN: A 61-year-old man who allegedly tied a dog to his car and dragged it for a distance causing it to suffer excruciating pain claimed trial to the charge at the Sessions Court here.

Chok Boon Kwong pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him before Judge Rushan Lutfi Mohamed.

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He was charged with tying the canine to a car with the registration plate WGP9130 and dragging it along a road in Kg Sri Parit in Port Dickson.

He allegedly committed the offence at around 6.45pm on May 27.

The accused was charged under Section 29(1)(e) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015, which carries a fine of between RM20,000 and RM100,000, a prison term of up to three years or both, upon conviction.

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Deputy Public Prosecutor Syamimi Farhana Muhammad A. Aziz then asked the court to set bail at RM30,000 pending the next mention.

However, counsel for the accused Nashvinder Singh Gill asked for a RM5,000 bail as the accused had been cooperative with the police.

He also told the court that a Johor Baru court had set bail at RM10,000 for a teenager who had been charged with setting a dog on fire.

Judge Rushan then set bail at RM15,000 with one surety and fixed July 11 for mention.

The suspect in today's case was arrested on May 29 in connection with the alleged incident and then remanded.

He was later released on police bail.

Police received a report about the incident on May 27 from a 44-year-old complainant who witnessed the dog being dragged.

The man claimed he was at his home in Kg Sri Parit when he witnessed the incident and decided to give chase.

He then overtook and blocked the suspect's vehicle to keep the dog, which was bleeding heavily, from being dragged any further.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows the dog bleeding and panting profusely.

The canine eventually succumbed to its injuries.