Source: http://tatiambia.blogspot.com/2011/03/chow-xiao-wei-cat-abuser-from-serdang.html

By: Tati Ambia

Event: Press conference with DAP assemblyman and Member of Parliament of Seri Kembangan, YB Ean Yong Hian Wah and cat abuser from Serdang, Chow Xiao Wei
Location: DAP Service Center, Jalan Sekolah, Kampung Baru Seri Kembangan, Serdang
Date: Sunday, March 6th 2011
Time: 10am

My fellow animal activist friend Lynn Wong and I decided to attend the press conference organized by YB Ean Yong Hian Wah in Serdang today. The event was held in order to allow the cat abuser from Serdang, Chow Xiao Wei, to make a public apology.

DAP Service Center in Serdang

Lynn and I arrived at the DAP Service Center at 10:45am. The location was hard to find and I believe the full address that was given to us was incomplete. We ended up asking for directions from 2 petrol stations, 1 police station, 1 post office, 1 school, 1 shop and 1 toll officer. No one gave us the correct address until we met a nice Chinese lady at our 3rd stop at a petrol station.

The event started at 10am sharp and only members from the press were allowed to go up and interview Chow Xiao Wei, Chow Xiao Wei's mother and YB Ean Yong.

Everyone had to show their official media ID before entering.

This DAP representative here did not allow me, Lynn and other NGO representatives to enter the building at the beginning.

 

 There were many animal lovers and protesters who waited outside. 

 Everyone wanted to go up and ask the cat abuser "Why did you do it?". 

A lot of angry Malaysians came all the way from different parts of the country. Even young children who could differentiate between what is right and wrong were there today to confront Chow Xiao Wei. 

A few minutes later, 3 officers from the Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia arrived. They spoke to the DAP reps. and said that they needed to meet the animal abuser and proceed with their investigation. 

In the beginning, some people did not allow them to go up as they could not recognize these officers. Some protesters shouted, "They are from the government! Let them in! Let them meet YB Ean Yong and the cat killer!".

The 3 officers were allowed in after DAP reps informed their seniors in the office about their presence downstairs. For more info on DVS, click http://www.dvs.gov.my 

 This gentleman is a representative from Dewan Undangan Selangor Darul Ehsan. 

 He tried to help calm some angry protesters down outside.

 This lady in orange shirt is a representative from Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB). 

 Later, YB Ean Yong came down and greeted everyone before answering their questions. 

 Here, he is seen talking to my friend, Lynn Wong, while I took photos. 

Photographers rushed down from the service center upstairs and took photos and videos of YB talking to the crowd. 

Everyone had too many questions to ask and too many things to say. YB Ean Yong was very patient and spoke politely to all. 

One gentleman however got a little aggressive while talking to YB Ean Yong. 

YB Ean Yong tried to calm him down and let everyone know what happened during the press conference. Many people shouted and said that they are very angry with Chow Xiao Wei (cat abuser) and that they demand her to come down and face the public. 

This gentleman here started raising his voice and said that he would like to inflict pain on Chow Xiao Wei just as how she did to the innocent kittens. He said that he would like break her hand and do other things to her when he sees her.

Some people cheered while others shouted "This man does not represent some of us! We are not here to inflict pain on anyone! We are not here to kill anyone! We are here to find out why she did what she did and what sort of punishment she will get!". 

YB Ean Yong's assistants had to send down bodyguards to protect YB just in case some people get a little too aggressive. One representative said "If this continues, we will have no choice but to call the police". 

Later, YB Ean Yong agreed to allow only a few NGO representatives and animal activists to go up to the service center and meet Chow Xiao Wei and her mom in a private room. No media members were allowed in. 

 As we entered the room, YB Ean Yong requested us to sign a form. 

He explained that the cat abuser from Serdang, Chow Xiao Wei, is extremely shy in person and was very nervous during the press conference. She could not say much as she was really scared. 

He asked us to not take anymore photos and that we do not bombard Chow Xiao Wei with negative questions and angry comments. 

Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better representative filling up the form. 

Lynn Wong taking down notes. 

YB Ean Yong said that he is not defending Chow Xiao Wei but rather he is there to provide her a space to make a public apology. After the video clip of Chow killing kittens were uploaded via Facebook, Chow received many death threats via SMS to her personal mobile number as well private messages to her Facebook account. 

Chow's mother was the one who encouraged her to file a police report and seek refuge with YB Ean Yong. Above is a picture of Chow's apology statement to all. 

Here is a copy of the police report which was submitted by Chow Xiao Wei herself. (I have to remove her personal details here) 

After YB Ean Yong showed us the documents, he asked his people to call Chow and her mom out of another room and face the NGO reps at the table.

Both of them looked extremely nervous and sad. I could not believe that the cat abuser that I have been blogging about since a few days ago was right in front of me. My first impression of her is that she was extremely shy, quiet and that she looked very much like a normal person.

Both Chow and her mom spoke in Hakka Chinese dialect and they are not able to converse in other languages. One representative from MDDB who understands Hakka was able to help us translate her words. 

She did not behave like those disturbed characters you see in movies. She did not have those scary eyes staring at you and all that. Whenever she did say something, she spoke very gently. 

 Here is her letter of apology to all Malaysians and animal lovers. 

The letter above is printed in Chinese and Malaysian language.

 Here is her apology in Chinese.

Chow's statement in her police report: 

On March 3rd 2011 at approximately 12:21pm while I was at the location as stated above, I received an SMS from 016-xxx xx xx from a stranger, who said "If I go out, be careful, I recognize you, I will stab you with a knife" . At 1:47am (March 3rd 2011) I received another SMS from 012-xxx xx xx saying that I am a cat killer. The SMS insulted me and (said) that if I go out I should be careful. I went to the police station and made a report afraid that something would happen to me.

This is a printed Print Screen of a private message sent to Chow via Facebook. It was clipped together with the copy of police report and apology letter which was shown to us in the room. My advice to all angry Malaysians and animal lovers out there, please do not send threatening messages like these to anyone as it could get you into trouble. 

 Here is another threatening message from a Facebook user. 

Member of Parliament for Serdang, YB Teo Nie Ching was there to guide the interview session and made sure that we do not attack Chow with any negative questions or remarks. 

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I managed to write down some notes during the meeting.

1) Chow Xiao Wei said to us "I know what I did was wrong and cruel. I regret for doing it"

2) When asked why she tortured and killed the kittens, her answer was "I did know why I did it"

3) Chow's mother has gotten her daughter medical help with a specialist from Serdang after the news of her were published in papers. She will continue her treatment with the doctor from now onwards.

4) Chow was very nervous during the press conference and meeting with the NGO reps. She teared a little in the middle of our meeting but I doubt others noticed it as everyone was talking.

5) When I asked her "Have you tortured/killed animals before this?" Her answer was "No, never"

6) When others asked her mom if she has watched the footage of her daughter torturing the kittens, the mom answered "No I haven't as we do not have internet connection at home. I only read the news on the paper". MDDB reps explained to Mrs Chow what actually happened in the video and stressed that this is a very serious matter. They encouraged Mrs Chow to watch the video at least once.

7) It was mentioned that Chow Xiao Wei is 21 years old and was working as a part-time promoter in a shopping mall in Mines. She however quit her job after the videos and photos of her were uploaded on the net.

8) When I asked YB Teo Nie Ching if Chow Xiao Wei has watched the video of herself torturing the animals,   YB answered "Yes, she has. She has no internet connection at home, so she goes to internet shops and when she watched it and read all the angry comments from many people, that was when she realized she did a very bad thing."

9) YB Teo Nie Ching said "We are not here to defend her. We are here to allow her to apologize to the public. We do not decide what punishment she should get. The Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia will do an investigation after this meeting. And it is most likely she will be charged in court."

10) When asked where exactly did she commit this crime and on which date, Chow answered "I did it behind KFC shop nearby the Seri Kembangan Market. The CCTV belongs to a fruit shop located there. The incident took place on the 23rd or 24th of February this year."

11) One NGO rep. asked "How many cats/kittens did you torture or kill exactly?". She answered "I killed one kitten and another kitten was injured badly. Another one escaped. I do not exactly remember how many kittens were there."

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My friend and I got our answers and we said our goodbyes to everyone at the end of the conversation. Later, we were interviewed by reporters who were waiting outside. I am not sure what happened after we left but I do hope no one got injured today.

I do not know how all of you feel about this right now but after meeting Chow Xiao Wei, a part of me tells me that she meant every word she said today (either that or I am just trying to be optimistic here). And she did not say much as she was too nervous. Of course, I am extremely mad for what she did but no, I do not want her to be killed. 

I prefer if she gets punished by doing A LOT of social work, go to rehab and perhaps who knows, maybe she can help encourage other existing animal abusers in the country to step forward and admit their wrongdoings. Think about it, at least she has the courage to come forward instead of running away like some cowards. From there, people who committed similar crimes like her could join her and do more good and spread awareness about animal rights, animal birth control and such.

Thousands of people may say "Pain for pain" or "Life for life" and that she has to be killed/punished severely but seriously people, do we really need to promote violence in order to spread love? And those who have sent and plan to send her crazy messages and death threats, please think again before you do so.

Threatening somebody to kill or harm them or/and their family is wrong, whether or not the person you are dealing with is a criminal or not. Plus, people can make police report about you and you could get into a lot of trouble for harassing others.

We cannot be promoting peace when we choose to solve issues with violence. I guess we shall wait and see what the court decides to do with Chow Xiao Wei. The RM200 fine is obviously not enough and I do hope the authorities can come up with heavier punishments for animal abuse.

Stay positive everyone and God bless.

ps+ Have you ever heard or read of people who were once cruel leaders of nations, killers and cannibals and later they realized their mistakes and transformed themselves into great, most loving and charitable people on earth?

For the Muslims, you might remember the story of a lady named Hind, who once fought against Prophet Mohamed peace be upon him. Hind ate/chewed the flesh of the heart of Prophet Mohamed's uncle but eventually later, she apologized, converted into Islam and is said to be one of Prophet Mohamed's closest companions and a supporter of peace.

People make mistakes. Not just small ones, big ones too. And I know many are willing to forgive, only if the criminal sincerely means it and makes effort to change for the better.

I hope, us being Malaysians, are able to forgive others. And I do hope that this young girl, Chow Xiao Wei, will keep her promise and change into a better person.

If God can forgive, so can we.