SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2015 The truth about Puspa Rani vs. the alleged abusive Subang 'dog breeder'
Puspa's Accusations against Mr. Lee
As most of the Malaysian dog loving community in touch with the news may know, sometime last month, there were several news reports that Puspa Rani, president of Malaysian Independant Animal Rescue (MIAR) had conducted a raid on 14 December 2014 on an alleged horrific puppy mill described as the 'biggest and worse case of animal abuse' in the country. Example of one of the reports below from the Star. The news also came out in Free Malaysia Today, Current Buzz and a number of Chinese dailies.
My involvement
I got involved in this case, but in a manner and extent that I did not expect. I had personally visited this same alleged dog breeder's place just one day before Puspa Rani to investigate the place for myself.
For me, it started when someone posted photos of Mr. Lee's place on a Facebook group for dog lovers which I was a member of. The photos showed some pitbulls with bad skin condition and a house with many caged dogs and stated that this was a suspected dog breeder. The lady invited members of the group to join her and some friends to investigate further on this place to see if it was true. The photos looked pretty terrible and so I agreed to join, even jokingly offering to bring along steering wheel lock in case I needed to beat some sense into this horrible breeder.
So I joined this lady and two of her friends to visit this place on 13th December 2014. I was expecting to see obvious evidence of dogs being overbred, typical signs being saggy breasts, many puppies, dogs dying of disease, living in poop, and basically suffering. I was also expecting that the man running the place would be defensive and unwilling to let us see the base camp of his animal torture activities.
What I experienced in reality was that the alleged breeder, Mr. Lee, was a very friendly man who openly invited us in and showed us around. The place was indead really dirty and messy because he's a mechanic and there were various automotive parts and car beings repaired, so stuff was shrewn everything and the house was not clean. And yes, there were many dogs in cages, not to mention a bunch of other animals like birds, cats and even a gibbon. There were several dogs that had skin conditions and were very weak. However, most of the dogs were jumping up and down excitedly when we walked in, and I did not see many of the telltale signs of abuse that are expected of a puppy mill.
I left the place feeling very unsure and thinking that he may not be a breeder after all, but it definitely needed further investigation. I work as an auditor, it's my job to make conclusions based on observations and evidence. So for me the short time I spent there was definitely not enough to make any conclusion, because a lot of I saw was not consistent with what an abusive dog breeder would be. So I was discussing with the group I went with whether we should report him to the authorities or not.
At the time, I have been a regular follower and supporter or Puspa and MIAR on Facebook for several years. The next day on 14 December, I saw news on her timeline that she was going to visit Mr. Lee's place. Initially I thought, great, she should be able to do a much more thorough investigation.
What happened next shocked me. On the same evening, MIAR's Facebook page and reports were splashed all over the news said that this man was an abusive and cruel dog breeder, keeping his dogs in terrible condition...dogs were starving, eating their own poop, sick or dying, puppies were taken from their mothers at young age... all the makings of a horrific puppy mill. The more the news came out, the more I was confused. Confused because it didn't make sense to me how Puspa confirmed all this in such a short time.
At the same time, a lot of negative allegations and rumours were circulating about MIAR from her ex-committee members and ex-volunteers, some of whom I knew personally. There was a Registrar of Societies report made by ex-committee members claiming Puspa is using funds for personal use, including buying drugs, among many others. I also noticed on Facebook that Puspa was asking for donations to a personal account under the name of Tej Rajbanshi instead of MIAR's account, so I tested the waters to see what would happen and posted a comment on MIAR's page asking why Puspa is asking for donations to be made to a personal account. Soon, I found my comment deleted and I was blocked from posting on MIAR's page. Which is when I realized something is not right about what Puspa is doing, talked to a lot of people online and did my own investigation, even going back to Mr. Lee's place to find out more. And I found more evidence to support Uncle Lee's case rather than Puspa's.
Uncle Lee's Conference
Yesterday on 3 January 2014, a press conference was organized at Mr. Lee's place, and I was there to do a presentation on Uncle Lee's side of the story, using the evidence observed and found by myself and a friend of Uncle Lee whom I met with after the news reports. The press conference was attended by several reporters, mainly from the Chinese press and only one representative from the an English Daily. Many other English news reporters were invited, including from the Star, Free Malaysia Today, Malay Mail, and the New Straits Times....but no reporters from these dailies turned up. Interestingly enough, a reporter from the one English Daily who did turn up called me after the Press Conference and told me that his reporters had been THREATENED not to publish any negatives news related to MIAR and that those threats came from none other than Ms. 'Angel' Puspa Rani herself.
To the reporters of this daily, hats off to you for having balls and defying this woman. To all the reporters from the other English dailies who decided to give Mr. Lee's press conference a miss because you were too busy or too easily bulldozed, your loss for missing out on a nice juicy scandalous story to attract readers. Now I have to do your job for you by writing this to make people aware of this con job named Puspa Rani. But that doesn't mean I'm not having fun doing it.
My Presentation
Below is the presentation I made to the press on the truth regarding the alleged Subang dog breeders. To all supporters of Puspa Rani who argued that detractors were simply 'jealous' of Puspa's fame, take 12 and a half minutes to see the evidence here of how badly she has taken all of you for a ride.
P.S.: One slide showing the video of Uncle Lee's place is not running properly, and I'm too lazy to figure out how to fix it, so bear with it please
P.S.S: The 'visitor' to Uncle Lee's place mentioned in this video is myself. Coz' sometimes I like talking about myself in third person, just like how Puspa likes calling herself an angel on MIAR's page. Falalalala
If you don't have 12 and a half minutes to spare, here's the faster-to-read jpeg version of the presentation, minus the suspense, intriguing mystery music and my weird kiddie-voice narration.
Enjoy!
Oh yes, to Puspa, when you get round to reading this, I respected you for years and do believe you may have started MIAR with good intentions, but the easy money got the better of you. If you're still thinking about taking Uncle Lee to court, you might want to consider turning over a new leaf and stop hoodwinking people at the expense of the dogs you claim to love. Coz' thanks to all these little trails of careless mistakes you made in your quest for money and glory, you don't have much a strong case going for you. Toodles!
PUBLISHED: Jan 3, 2015 11:18pmUPDATED: Jan 3, 2015 11:18pm Animal lover uncle cries foul after NGO confiscates his dogs
Lee Kong Lai, or Uncle Lee, said Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) president Puspa Rani Thanabalasingam had introduced herself as a veterinarian and he was under the impression that she had offered to put his dogs in a shelter with better facilities. — TRP pic by Mokhsin Zamani
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3, 2015:
Lee Kong Lai, 52, claimed the action of Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) in taking away 31 of his dogs was unjustified and illegal.
On the morning of Dec 14 last year, Lee was getting ready for an appointment when the president of the animal rights group, Puspa Rani Thanabalasingam, allegedly arrived at his rented bungalow in Kampung Melayu Subang with a few volunteers and policemen.
Lee, or Uncle Lee, as he is fondly known, claimed Puspa had introduced herself as a veterinarian and he was under the impression that she had offered to put his dogs in a shelter with better facilities.
“I was happy as it meant that the dogs under my care, more than 80 of them, will have a better life.
“I let them in and my wife took care of them as I had to go out,” he claimed at a press conference today.
Lee claimed that he was surprised when his wife called him to say that Puspa had only taken 31 dogs, mostly poodles.
Lee immediately called Puspa to seek an explanation, and was purportedly told that she had to rent additional space just to keep the 31 dogs.
“I thanked her for being kind-hearted and even offered to help her out if she needed to look for more space to keep the dogs.
“Later on, I was shocked to read the news which depicted me as an animal abuser who had been keeping the dogs in foul-smelling, unkempt cages,” he said, adding that he was astonished Puspa had allegedly said bad things behind his back.
Puspa was quoted in news reports as saying that it was the biggest and worst case she had dealt with because there were so many animals involved.
Lee had since lodged a police report over the matter, as he had also doubted the legality of such a raid in the first place.
“She showed me a police report during the raid, but I was not given the chance to read it. I was later told that a police report is not equivalent to a search warrant.
“The police present during the raid did nothing. It was Puspa who took the dogs,” he alleged.
Lee, a mechanic, insisted that he had never abused the dogs as he loved the animals and denied that he was running a puppy mill.
He had taken in most of the animals after they were abandoned due to poor health, old age or injuries, and nursed them back to health.
“I had been keeping the dogs for more than seven years now. I used to keep them in the upper floor of my car workshop but had to relocate them here (his bungalow) due to complaints two years back,” he said.
Lee is anxious to know the condition of the confiscated dogs, as it was reported that the MIAR shelter in Kajang was inundated in a flash flood days later, drowning an undetermined number of dogs.
At today’s press conference, Carol Ng, a dog lover who is not related to Lee, was present to testify on behalf of him.
Ng said she had visited the place a day prior to the raid, after being invited by a group of Facebook friends.
“We had suspected him of being a dog breeder and checked out the place.
“My conclusion from the visit is that the majority of the allegations made by Puspa against Lee were false and grossly over exaggerated,” claimed Ng, who presented photo evidence and also Facebook screen shots of MIAR postings to back up her claims.
She said the claims by MIAR had been made without investigation and there was no evidence of overbred dogs, while there were also many mongrels in Lee’s care which were not reported.
Ng, an auditor with a global provider of technical, safety and certification services, also alleged there were falsified evidence in news reports and exaggerated claims of bad conditions.
At the time of publishing this story, Puspa could not be reached for comment.
Updated: Sunday December 28, 2014 MYT 8:14:17 AM Animal rights group underfire due to dog drowning
PETALING JAYA: The animal welfare group which rescued 31 dogs from an alleged breeder in Subang recently is now being plagued by controversies, including the drowning of more than 40 dogs in its shelter during a flash flood in Kajang last Saturday.
This is not the first time the shelter run by Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) was flooded but no canine death was reported previously.
In the past, dogs did not drown because they ran to safety. But in last Saturday’s incident, they could not get out of their cages.
To make matters worse, MIAR office bearers are also fighting to prevent the organisation from being deregistered by the Selangor Registrar of Societies (RoS).
MIAR vice-president Shalinee Fernandez said MIAR was slapped with an impending deregistration notice after four of its seven office bearers notified RoS and lodged police reports over the alleged mishandling of funds by its president T. Puspa Rani.
“We were forced to do this after discovering some very serious irregularities and discrepancies in the issuance of cheques and withdrawals from the MIAR account,” said Shalinee, adding that MIAR’s bank account had also been frozen since.
Shalinee added that they had appealed to the RoS to revoke deregistration so that the funds in the MIAR account would not be lost to the insolvency department.
Meanwhile, the owner of the bungalow in Subang has accused the organisation of stealing his dogs, claiming that out of the 31 dogs taken, only three were sick and the other 28 were healthy pure-breeds such as shih-tzus and toy poodles.
Shalinee clarified that only Puspa Rani was involved in the rescue and the MIAR committee had not been informed or consulted before it was carried out.
Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue - The True Story
REGISTAR OF SOCIETIES REPORT AGAINST PUSPA RANI AND MIAR...READ AND SHARE. THOSE WHO WANT COPY OF ORIGINAL, SEND US A MESSAGE AND IT WILL BE EMAIL TO YOU. READ READ READ!!!!!!!!!!
PER: LAPORAN KEPADA ROS (REGISTAR OF SOCIETIES REPORT):
PASUKAN PENYELAMAT SUKARELAWAN MALAYSIA ATAU MALAYSIA INDEPENDENT ANIMAL RESCUE (“MIAR”) ialah sebuah NGO untuk haiwan yang telah ditubuhkan pada 7th May 2012. Kami mempunyai 2 premis yang merumahkan lebih kurang 100 ekor anjing di Kajang. Organisasi kami terdiri daripada 7 orang iaitu pengerusi, Puspa Rani a/p Thanabalasingam(760317145606), Timbalan Pengerusi, Shalinee Fernandez a/p Edwin (771003075362), Setiausaha, Goh Rui Qi (900417105232), Penolong Setiausaha, Prasanna Mukunnan (840217075700), Bekas Bendahari, Debra Sharmain Nathan (910405145420), AJK, Roshaan Surendranath (910911145407) dan AJK, Logesvaran Sakthivandan (891210075687).
Ibu pejabat kami adalah rumah pengerusi kami iaitu Puspa Rani dimana kesemua dokumen penting yang berkenaan MIAR disimpan (buku cek, resit, kenyataan bank dan lain lain). Semua keputusan yang dibuat oleh MIAR adalah keputusan Puspa Rani kerana dia yang memegang semua rekod-rekod MIAR. Keputusan yang diambilnya adalah seperti memberi kebenaran untuk menyelamatkan anjing atau kucing yang dlaporkan kepada kami, kisah untuk disertakan di laman rasmi facebook MIAR, klinik veterina panel untuk kes-kes MIAR, acara-acara yang disertai MIAR dan lain-lain. Jika sebarang keputusan dibuat tanpa kebenarannya, dia enggan memberi sebarang pertolongan dalam bentuk wang, nasihat, kebenaran untuk menggunakan nama MIAR atau untuk ditempatkan dalam pusat perlindungan MIAR. Sepanjang masa menjawat jawatan sebagai Bendahari, atas arahan Puspa, Debra dan Shalinee hanya pernah menandatangani cek-cek kosong sahaja atas alasan Puspa, iaitu bahawa MIAR memerlukan duit ketika kecemasan dan Debra dan Shalinee tidak tinggal berdekatan dengan Kajang. Ini boleh disahkan oleh Rui Qi, Setiausaha MIAR, Roshaan, AJK MIAR, Darshanaa, sukarelawan MIAR dan sukarelawan lain.
Semenjak MIAR ditubuhkan, Debra sebagai Bendahari telah cuba beberapa kali untuk mendapatkan dokumen dokumen berkenaan untuk membuat peraukaunan untuk diaudit. Tiap kali, Puspa Rani enggan memberi dokumen dokumen tersebut untuk disemak. Pada bulan Nov 2013, Debra telah mula berasa curiga bahawa aktiviti-aktiviti penyelewangan oleh Puspa Rani sedang berlaku. Ini adalah kerana, bekas pekerja MIAR, En. Avinash Singh telah memberitahu Debra bahawa Puspa adalah seorang penagih dadah dan dia disyaki menggunakan duit sumbangan kepada MIAR untuk membeli dadahnya. Debra telah melakukan siasatan dan mula menyuruh Puspa menyerahkan semua dokumen untuk membuat peraukanan, tetapi dia enggan memberikannya walaupun ditanya beberapa kali. Debra juga telah mendapat tahu daripada bekas pekerja MIAR, En. Avinash Singh bahawa Puspa adalah seorang penagih dadah sejak usia 17 tahun dan Puspa selalu memaksa Avinash semasa bekerja dalam tempat perlindungan haiwan kami untuk memotong kerja atas tujuan membeli dadah untuk dia.
Setelah cuba beberapa kali untuk mendapat kenyataan bank dan resit resit tersebut, Bendahari telah memutuskan untuk meletak jawatan bermula 1 Jan 2014. Dia telah memberi surat tersebut terus kepada Puspa Rani di rumahnya dengan Roshaan Suren, AJK MIAR sebagai saksi. Selepas itu, Debra telah memutuskan perhubungan dengan Puspa Rani, tetapi pada 25 Feb 2014, Debra telah mendapat panggilan telefon dari Puspa dan dalam perbualan itu, Puspa telah memberitahui Debra bahawa dia ingin membunuh diri dan dia telah menyuntik beberapa botol dadah ke dalam badan dia. Debra berserta dengan Roshaan dan Shalinee telah pergi ke rumah Puspa untuk meninjau keadaan dia. Pada masa yang sama, Puspa telah memanggil Darshanaa dan Theebaan, sukarelawan MIAR untuk memberitahu perkara yang sama.
Apabila Debra, Shalinee dan Roshaan sampai, Puspa tidak sedar diri atas sofa dia tanpa memakai seluar. Debra dan Shalinee telah memasuki bilik peribadi dia dan di situ mereka terlihat 15-20 botol botol Domi Injection 15mg (3ml Amp) Midazolam HCl equivalent to Midazolam 15mg/3ml Disodium Adetate 0.01% W/V dan picagari atas katil dia. 10 minit selepas itu, Darshanaa dan Theebaan sampai ke rumah dia juga. Kami semua cuba membawa dia ke hospital untuk menerima rawatan tetapi dia menjadi agresif kerana tidak mahu pergi ke hospital. Darshanaa, Theebaan dan Roshaan telah memaksa dia ke dalam kereta dan membawa dia ke KPJ Kajang, di situ mereka telah disuruh pergi ke Hospital Kajang kerana ini adalah kes bunuh diri dan mereka tidak boleh merawati dia.kerana ini adalah kes polis. Apabila kami ke Hospital Kajang, Puspa telah bertambah agresif dan kini menjerit perkataan-perkataan kesat kepada semua staf hospital. Darshanaa cuba menghubungi suami Puspa tetapi tidak mendapat talian, kemudian dia memanggil ibu Puspa dan ibu dia menyuruh kita untuk membuat apa yang kita fikir patut dilakukan. Pada masa itu, Puspa telah bercakap dengan ibu dia dan hendak balik ke rumah. Kerana itu, mereka telah membawa Puspa balik ke rumah.
Apabila ke rumah dia, suami Puspa telah memanggil kami kembali dan memberitahu Darshanaa dan Theebaan bahawa Puspa telah mengambil dadah untuk 17 tahun dan pernah menyalahgunakan dadah. Dia pernah memasuki tempat pemulihan bernama Pengasih. Pada malam itu, Puspa telah keluar seorang diri untuk membeli lebih dadah. Keesokan harinya, Theebaan telah ke rumah dia dan mendapati Puspa masih sedang berkhayal dan ketika itu dia telah menyuruh Theebaan mengambil duit sumbangan untuk MIAR sebanyak RM500 dan memasukkan duit itu ke dalam dompet peribadinya. Theebaan enggan melakukannya, jadi Puspa telah memasukkan duit itu sendiri.
Selepas itu, Puspa telah memanggil dua sukarelawan bernama Houman dan May Kuen ke rumahnya atas sebab dia mahu membunuh diri sekali lagi. May Kuen telah menghubungi Vidhya, Avinash, Vanessa dan Rajeev, sukarelawan MIAR yang lain. Mereka semua tiba ke rumah dia and Puspa masih sedang berkhayal dan masih menyuntik lebih dadah ke dalam badan dia. (Bersama aduan ini, kami menyertakan repot polis yang telah dibuat oleh Debra, Theebaan, Roshaan dan Darshanaa tentang aktiviti penyalahgunaan dadah Puspa-Lampiran 1). Selepas mereka semua balik, Puspa telah memberitahu Theebaan bahawa dia hendak memandu ke Mines Sri Kembangan untuk membeli lebih dadah. Dia telah memaksa Theebaan untuk memandu bersama dia untuk mengambil dadah dia daripada seorang pengedar dadah haram. Apabila di sana, Puspa telah keluar daripada keretanya dan masuk ke dalam kereta pengedar dadah haram itu. Dia kembali ke keretanya dan menunjukkan Theebaan dadah yang baru dibelinya.
Selepas kejadian itu, kami telah memutuskan untuk memulakan penyiasatan yang lebih teliti. Dalam tempoh November 2013 sehingga April 2014, Debra, Shalinee dan Roshaan telah bertanya Puspa untuk mendapatkan kenyataan bank sebanyak lebih (7) tujuh kali lagi tetapi Puspa masih tidak mahu memberi mereka sebarang maklumat atau dokumen. Puspa memberitahu mereka bahawa dia telah menghilangkan kenyataan bank itu. Jadi mereka memutuskan untuk menulis surat kepada bank untuk memperolehi kenyataan bank yang telah kononnya hilang. Apabila ditanya sekali lagi, apa yang pelik adalah Puspa enggan menandatangani surat kepada bank tersebut untuk mendapatkan kenyataan bank tersebut. Sejurus selepas itu, peguam Debra telah menghantar Surat Tuntutan (Letter of Demand)- Lampiran 2 kepadanya untuk memperolehi kenyataan bank tersebut berserta dengan surat letak jawatannya sekali lagi kerana Puspa telah menafikan bahawa dia telah menerima surat letak jawatan Debra pada bulan Disember 2013. Puspa enggan menandatangani pos berdaftar dan surat tuntutan itu telah dikembalikan kepada alamat Debra. Kemudian, pada 30 April 2014, Sasidaran (“Sasi”) seorang pekerja MIAR telah memberitahu Debra bahawa dia telah menyaksikan Puspa meniru tandatangan Debra atas beberapa cek-cek kosong dengan memberi alasan bahawa Debra telah memberi kebenaran kepadanya.
Apabila didapati kenyataan itu tidak benar, Sasi bersama dengan Debra telah membuat laporan polis seperti yang boleh didapati di dalam lampiran aduan ini. (Lampiran 3) Sejurus selepas itu, mereka telah ke Maybank Kajang dengan membawa laporan polis tentang peniruan tanda tangan untuk membekukan akaun Persatuan MIAR (Lampiran 4) dan di situ, mereka telah mendapat tahu bahawa terdapat suatu cek yang telah dipalsukan tandatangan sebanyak RM26, 800 (No Cek :225071) (Lampiran 5) yang telah berjaya disalurkan kepada akaun peribadi Puspa Rani dan mereka juga mempunyai satu cek yang dipalsukan tandatangan yang berjumlah RM29,131.00 ke Happy Paws Animal Klinik, tetapi cek itu tidak berjaya disalurkan. Setelah itu, Roshaan, Debra dan Shalinee telah membuat laporan polis tentang penyelewangan duit oleh Puspa Rani atas dasar yang dia telah memasukkan duit berjumlah RM26,800 daripada akaun persatuan ke akaun peribadinya tanpa kebenaran sah daripada mereka di dalam kapasiti mereka sebagai signatori cek Persatuan MIAR. (Lampiran 6)
Apabila memperolehi semua kenyataan bank untuk Mei 2012- April 2014 dan kebanyakkan imej cek daripada tahun 2013, kami mendapati bahawa dari bulan Januari 2013 sehingga Disember 2013, Puspa Rani telah mengeluarkan wang dalam bentuk tunai sebanyak RM109, 500 atas namanya sendiri, atas nama suaminya Palraj a/l Rasathurai, sebanyak RM47, 000 telah dikeluarkan dalam bentuk tunai dan atas nama pembantunya yang juga ahli AJK Logesvaran a/l Sakthivandan sebanyak RM55, 000 telah dikeluarkan secara tunai. Sila rujuk Jadual 1 untuk jumlah dan jenis pengeluaran wang daripada akaun rasmi MIAR dari bulan Mei 2012 –April 2014 yang merupakan pengeluaran tunai daripda akaun miar..
Tarikh Nombor Cek Jumlah (RM)
Mei 2012 - -
June 2012 - -
30 Julai 2012 225001 3,000
17 Ogos 2012 225002 3,000
30 Ogos 2012 225003 3,000
7 September 2012 225004 3,000
20 September 2012 225005 3,000
2 Oktober 2012 225006 3,000
5 November 2012 225017 3,000
23 November 2012 225019 3,000
4 December 2012 225021 3,000
17 December 2012 225033 3,000
26 December 2012 225034 3,000
7 Januari 2013 225035 3,000
22 Januari 2013 225036 3,000
30 Januari 2013 225037 5,000
6 Februari 2013 225038 6,000
4 Mac 2013 225039 8,000
27 Mac 2013 225042 8,000
17 April 2013 225043 10,000
7 Mei 2013 225044 10,000
28 Mei 2013 225040 10,000
5 June 2013 225041 10,000
13 June 2013 225046 20,000
10 Julai 2013 225047 12,000
29 Julai 2013 225048 15,000
28 Ogos 2013 225049 10,000
17 September 2013 225050 15,000
4 Oktober 2013 225051 20,000
7 Oktober 2013 225052 15,000
30 Oktober 2013 225053 15,000
12 November 2013 225054 10,000
25 November 2013 225055 10,000
10 December 2013 225056 17,000
24 December 2013 225057 17,000
31 December 2013 225058 14,500
13 Januari 2014 225059 17,000
29 Januari 2014 225061 15,000
25 Februari 2014 225067 20,000
28 Mac 2014 225632 18,000
28 April 2014 225071 26,800
Jumlah= 393,300
Anggaran perbelanjaan sebulanan = RM10,000
Julai 2012-April 2014
22 bulan x 10,000= RM 220,000
RM 393,300-RM 220,00=RM 173,300
Jumlah duit yang tidak dapat diambil kira = RM 173,300
Perbelanjaan yang paling besar untuk MIAR adalah bil veterina dan untuk Tahun 2013, jumlah yang telah dibayar kepada vet (doktor haiwan) adalah sebanyak RM49,194.40 sahaja. Kami membayar vet dalam bentuk cek yang terus dimasukkan daripada akaun MIAR ke akaun vet. Jadi wang yang telah dikeluarkan oleh Puspa adalah hanya untuk perbelanjaan bulanan MIAR. Sila rujuk Jadual 2 untuk anggaran perbelanjaan MIAR untuk sebulan.
Anggaran Perbelanjaa Bualanan Februari 2014
Gaji Pekerja Jumlah(RM)
Jani 1,500
Avinash 1,500
Baskaran 1,800
Sewa 2 Premis
Prima & Shelter(Pusat Lindungan) 1,050
Elektrik
Prima 195
Shelter (Pusat Lindungan) 190
Air
Prima 147
Shelter (Pusat Lindungan) 274
Top up telefon & Petrol 1,000
Jumlah Besar = 7,656
Daripada Jadual 2, boleh dilihat bahawa anggaran perbelanjaan sebulan MIAR tidak melebihi RM10 000, tetapi jauh lebih banyak telah dikeluarkan oleh Puspa dalam sebulan. Lebih lagi, ada ramai orang awam yang memberikan MIAR wang tunai apabila setiap anjing daripada tempat perlindungan kami diambil sebagai anjing peliharaan berupa “Yuran Adoption”, juga setiap kali orang awam menziarahi pusat perlindungan kami, tiap kali terdapat acara pengumpulan dana yang disertai MIAR dan lain lain. Kesemua wang tunai ini diberikan kepada Puspa.
Juga, infrastruktur besar yang terdapat dalam pusat perlindungan kami yang digunakan ketika banjir, zinc plate, sangkar haiwan, water pump, CCTV, water bowls, food bowls, Clorox, ayam, shampoo anjing, beras dan lain-lain telah disumbangkan oleh orang ramai apabila sumbangan diminta dalam laman facebook MIAR. Semua duit tunai atau cek cek atau sumbangan jenis hartabenda akan diberikan terus kepada Puspa utuk disimpan di dalam rumah dia. Setahu kami, Puspa tidak pernah memasukkan duit tunai yang diberi kepadanya ke dalam akaun bank MIAR. Darshanaa, Theebaan dan Sasi pernah memberi Puspa Rani duit tunai sebanyak RM3600++ duit jualan pada 23 Febuari 2014 yang mereka perolehi dalam Cutie Pet Fun Fair dan ini tidak termasuk duit tunai sumbangan orang ramai. Walaubagaimanapun, kenyataan bank tidak menunjukkan sebarang transaksi yang menunjukkan bahawa duit itu telah dimasukkan.
Juga, setelah bercakap dengan pihak klinik veterina panel MIAR, kami mendapat tahu bahawa Puspa tidak membayar bil vet dari 28 November 2013 hingga 31 April 2014. Tetapi, apabila kenyataan bank disemak, dia telah mengeluarkan duit tunai sebanyak RM118,500 dan memasukkan RM26,800(15 April 2014) dalam bentuk cek ke dalam akaun peribadinya daripada, jadi keseluruhannya berjumlah RM145,300 28 Nov 2013 hingga 31 April 2014. Dia tidak menggunakan duit tunai yang dikeluarkan untuk membayar bil veterina yang merupakan perbelanjaan terbesar kami setiap bulan, jadi kami mensyaki bahawa dia telah menyalahgunakan duit sumbangan kepada MIAR untuk kegunaannya sendiri. Keadaan di tempat perlindungan kami juga tidak menunjukkan sebarang perubahan dari segi infrastruktur, kecuali perubahan kecil yang merupakan kos kecil ataupun mungkin sumbangan orang ramai. Di dalam laporan ini, kami sertakan imej-imej pusat perlindungan kami. (Lampiran 7)
Puspa juga telah menghantar sukarelawan bernama Cattherine Chong pada 17th April 2014 untuk menipu dan memaksa Roshan AJK MIAR untuk meletak jawatan dengan memberitahu Roshaan dan Debra bahawa dia akan menyiasat pertudahan mereka mengenai penyelewangan duit tersebut, tetapi Roshaan harus meletak jawatan supaya jawatankuasa boleh dibubarkan. Kemudiannya, Puspa memberitahu Sasi bahawa Puspa dan Cattherine Chong berada dalam keadaan terdesak untuk memberikan resit untuk semakan akaun tetapi kata Puspa bahawa resit-resit itu telah dibuang oleh suaminya atau dimakan anjingnya. Puspa memberitahu Sasi bahawa untuk membubarkan jawatankuasa, dia bersama Cattherine Chong terpaksa memalsukan resit resit tersebut untuk semakan akaun.
Sepanjang menyelibatan kami di MIAR bersama Puspa Rani, kami tidak pernah menghadiri atau mengendalikan sebarang mesyuarat agung atau mesyuarat agung tahunan walaupun Rui Qi, Debra, Shalinee dan Roshaan pernah menanyakan Puspa beberapa kali. Hanya sekali pada awal bulan April 2012, Puspa, Debra, Shalinee, Roshaan, Rui Qi dan Bob telah mengadakan mesyuarat agung untuk penubuhan persatuan MIAR. Mereka tidak boleh mengendalikan sendiri kerana Puspa Rani tidak memberi kebenaran kepada mereka untuk menggunakan rumahnya yang juga merupakan ibu pejabat MIAR. Mereka juga tidak pernah memegang mana mana buku cek, buku resit, logo MIAR, kepala surat (Letterhead) MIAR, kenyataan bank, perlembagaan MIAR, sijil pertubuhan MIAR atau senarai ahli jawatankuasa walaupun telah menanyakan Puspa beberapa kali. Kami juga tidak pernah bertemu dengan penolong setiausaha Prasanna Mukunnan.
Dengan itu, kami juga mendapati bahawa 3 pekerja kami bernama Paskaran, Sukhvinder Singh dan Avinash Singh telah diberi RM35 000, RM10, 000 dan RM10, 000 masing masing oleh Puspa Rani tanpa kebenaran sebarang ahli-ahli jawatankuasa MIAR. Kami mensyaki bahawa duit ini telah diberi kepada mereka supaya mereka menyimpan rahsia aktiviti penyelewengan dan penyalagunaan dadahnya. Kami juga ada sebab untuk mempercayai bahawa duit persatuan MIAR yang seharusnya digunakan khas untuk MIAR sahaja digunakan untuk membeli pakaian jenama mahal, beg-beg tangan mahal, 2 telefon bimbit barunya, serta untuk membeli arak apabila dia keluar berparti di kelab malam. Kami juga mendapati duit dalam sumbangan bentuk wang yang diberi oleh orang awam semasa acara-acara pengumpulan dana atau di tempat perlindungan MIAR yang bertempat di Kajang tiada rekod dimasukkan ke dalam akaun NGO. Sumbangan wang dianggarkan dalam jumlah beribuan Ringgit Malaysia. Sehingga kini, Puspa Rani bersama Cattherine Chong enggan memberitahu bekas Bendahari ataupun sukarelawan MIAR nama firma perakaunan yang membuat perakaunan MIAR serta tidak pernah menunjuk sukarelawan atau mempublisikan perakaunan MIAR. Berserta dengan repot ini adalah petisyen daripada pihak awam yang ingin Puspa Rani dipecat sebagai presiden kerana tidak menjalankan tugas dan tanggungjawabnya sebagai presiden serta tidak mengunakan duit orang awam untuk kebaikan haiwan di negara in selaras dengan visi dan misi Persatuan Sukarelawan Penyelamat Haiwan (Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue).
Kami juga mendapati bahawa dia telah melanggar peraturan perlembagaan MIAR di bawah Fasal 10 (4) yang menyatakan perbelanjaan yang melebihi RM2,000 harus diluluskan oleh Jawatankuasa MIAR terlebih dahulu dan perbelanjaan melebihi RM5,000 tidak boleh diluluskan tanpa mesyuarat agung terlebih dahulu yang kedua-duanya tidak dilakukan.
Di bawah Fasal 10 (5) yang menyatakan bahawa Bendahari seharusnya menyediakan penyata kewangan tidak dapat dibuat kerana President Puspa Rani enggan memberi dokumen berkenaan untuk membuat akaun tahunan.
Repot in menunjukkan bahawa Puspa Rani telah melanggar peraturan di bawah Akta Pertubuhan 1966 seperti yang berikut :
Seksyen 14 (d) – Puspa tidak memfailkan perakaunan selama 2 tahun dengan ROS
Seksyen 15 (1A) – Puspa Rani tidak memberitahu ROS bahawa Bendahari Debra Nathan telah meletak jawatan berkuatkuasa 1 Januari 2014
Seksyen 26- Puspa Rani enggan memberi perakaunan untuk diaudit selama 2 tahun.
Seksyen 28- Puspa Rani enggan memberi AJK MIAR sebarang salinan perlembagaan
Seksyen 29- Puspa Rani enggan memberi AJK MIAR serta para dermawan penyata kewangan persatuan
Sekysen 30- Puspa Rani enggan memberi kebenaran kepada ahli persatuan, mahupun orang awam untuk melihat penyata kewangan, akaun persatuan serta cara bagainmana duit MIAR digunakan
Sekysen 51 (1), (2), (3) - PDRM cawangan Kajang telah membuka penyiasatan atas kesalahan memalsukan tandatangan Debra Nathan atas cek-cek persatuan dan menyalurkan duit tersebut ke dalam akaun peribadinya
Sekysen 53 (1)- Kami mensyaki duit yang telah dikeluarkan oleh Akaun Persatuan digunakan untuk tujuan peribadinya yang tidak berkenaaan dengan persatuan.
Sekysen 54- Disyaki Puspa Rani & Cattherine Chong hendak memalsukan resit-resit perbelanjaan persatuan untuk membuat perakaunan persatuan seperti yang diberitahu oleh seorang sukarelawan Sasidharan
Sekysen 54(A)- Disyaki Puspa Rani juga hendak memberi ROS dokumen-dokumen perakuan persatuan yang telah dipalsukan untuk diaudit oleh ROS.
Kami dengan ini mengakui dan mengesahkan bahawa semua maklumat yang diberikan oleh kami di dalam Laporan ROS ini adalah benar, tepat dan lengkap mengikut pengetahuan kami.
....................................................... ………………………………….
Shalinee Fernandez a/p Edwin Debra Sharmain Nathan
Naib Pengerusi MIAR Bekas Bendahari MIAR
(No. K/P : 771003-07-5362) (No. K/P : 910405-14-5420)
……………………………………. ………………………………
Roshaan Surendranath Theeban Govindasamy
Bekas AJK MIAR Sukarelawan MIAR
(No. K/P : 910911145407) (No. K/P : 900793-10-5413)
…………………………………..
Darshanaa Chelliah
Sukarelawan MIAR
(No. K/P : 901012-14-5134)
Exposing the exposer: Part 1
Scott Ng | January 13, 2015
The controversy surrounding Puspa Rani of MIAR takes a dark turn in documents lodged by the animal rescue centre's committee members.
You may have heard of Puspa Rani of Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR). She has been a visible figure among those who feel strongly about animal rights, evidenced by her 15,000 Facebook following and the widespread sharing of her posts whenever she brings a case of animal abuse to attention. Her most recent rescue, however, has been mired in controversy. Her claim that Lee Kong Lai, 51, was running an abusive puppy mill has been challenged by Lee as well as dog lover Carol Ng.
Recent media reports have since given voice to Lee’s side of the story – that he is an animal lover who rescued and gave about 80 dogs shelter in his own home and that Puspa had falsely accused him as a dog abuser. He has said that he was under the impression that Puspa was a veterinarian who was going to offer his dogs better housing when she visited his premises and that he was shocked to discover he had been framed as an abusive breeder in the media, including in initial reports in FMT. Carol’s blog claims that she and her friends had previously visited Lee’s home and found the dogs to be happy and well-cared for, inconsistent with the allegations made against him a day later by Puspa.
More serious, though, are the accusations levelled at Puspa in Carol’s blog, which mention an ROS report submitted by the other committee members of MIAR that detail the misuse of MIAR funds as well as Puspa Rani’s drug addiction problem.
Documents procured by FMT via MIAR vice-president Shalinee Fernandez elaborate on these accusations and tell a story that tears at Puspa’s wholesome image, cultivated through Facebook posts and media buzz, showing a manipulative and calculating side that may shock some of her long-time supporters and followers of MIAR’s cause.
The documents are highly detailed, being part of a report to the Registrar of Societies. We will here touch on the allegations of misappropriation of funds made by the committee members. It is important to note that since Puspa’s home serves as MIAR headquarters, important documents like the organisation’s cheque book, receipts, bank statements, and the like are held by her. Additionally, the committee members testify that throughout Debra Sharmain’s tenure as Treasurer, she and vice-president
Shalinee signed blank cheques based solely on trust in case MIAR required emergency funds especially with regard to vet bills pertaining to animals that were in urgent need of medical treatment. This was because the two did not live close enough to the headquarters.
This is the story that the documents tell:
Between October and December 2013, Debra attempted thrice to obtain the organization’s bank statements and receipts from Puspa as she intended to resign as Treasurer by the end of the year, and wanted to clear the accounts. However, she was rebuffed by Puspa, who said the documents were in her mother’s house. Debra testifies that it was around this time that she first started getting suspicious of Puspa and the handling of the NGOs’ finances. A final request for the documents was made when Debra tendered her resignation on December 15, 2013, but the request was not entertained by Puspa, leaving Debra unable to clear the accounts.
Calls unanswered
On March 28, 2014, Debra, now ex-treasurer, informed Puspa that she and another committee member, Roshaan Suren, would be heading to Kajang to collect the receipts and bank statements, but waited for Puspa for an hour and a half to no avail, and all calls went unanswered. This pattern continued for several weeks, with Puspa refusing to answer calls and text messages regarding the documents. On April 22, a registered Letter of Demand from Debra’s lawyer for access to the documents was returned unopened.
The timeline provided to FMT takes a more serious turn on May 5, when Debra found out that a volunteer had witnessed Puspa forging the former treasurer’s signature on a cheque. (Debra had left the organization on January 1, 2014.) This led both the witness and Debra to make a police report. The witness’ police report has not been disclosed as the witness had been previously threatened by Puspa at his workplace the same month the report was lodged. The following day, Maybank Kajang froze the NGO’s account as an official investigation had been opened in regard to the suspected forgery.
The bank shockingly revealed that funds had been transferred into Puspa’s personal bank account, amounting to RM26,800.
Acting on the information released by the bank, Shalinee, Debra, and the other committee members on May 11, 2014 made a police report regarding the possible embezzlement of the NGO’s funds. A little more than a week later, Maybank released all of the NGO’s bank statements dating between October 2013 and December 2013 as the account was now part of a police investigation. It was found then that RM118,500 in cash cheques had been taken out from the NGO’s account throughout October to December 2013 alone, leading the committee to suspect that Puspa had purposely hidden the bank statements requested by Debra to hide the withdrawals from the committee members.
The amounts withdrawn were inconsistent with the monthly estimate of expenses for the NGO, which as of February 2014 only required a total sum of RM7,656, covering salaries for three workers, rent for two shelter premises and phone and petrol top-ups.
The documents also reveal that an “adoption fee” was collected from many members of the public when they adopted dogs from the NGOs shelters. This fee was on top of donations made to MIAR during public events. The money was allegedly pocketed by Puspa.
The committee obtained the NGOs’ bank statements dating back to May 2012 and ascertained that after operating expenses amounting to an estimated RM10,000 a month were eliminated from the equation, a remaining RM173,300 which was withdrawn from the NGO’s coffers could not be accounted for.
It was also revealed that much of the shelter infrastructure during floods was donated by the public via solicitations on the group’s Facebook. These included zinc plates, animal cages, water pumps and bowls. Food and other other necessities were donated in a similar manner, but all monetary aid, whether in cash or cheque, was given straight to Puspa. The committee members testify that to their knowledge, Puspa had never banked in any of that money into the NGOs’ account.
Lawsuit
From that point onwards, the relationship between Puspa and the committee members continued to degrade. In June 2014, the committee members and Maybank Kajang received notice of a lawsuit for the freezing of Puspa’s bank account. Debra, Shalinee, other committee members, and two volunteers were served a RM1 million lawsuit each for allegedly posting defamatory Facebook articles, copies of which have not been shown to them to this day. They have rejected an offer from Puspa’s lawyer to settle the case out of court.
The rabbit hole gets even deeper as the committee discovered that Puspa Rani had failed to pay RM29,131 in veterinary bills throughout the period between November 2013 and April 2014, meaning the extravagant sums withdrawn from the NGOs’ account were not used to pay for what the committee described as the largest monthly expenditure. This includes the RM165,300 that Puspa withdrew from the account within the same time frame.
The committee told FMT that despite repeated calls to the police, there appears to be no follow-up action being taken on the reports made by the committee in regards to the misappropriation of MIAR funds.
The second part of this report will deal with the allegations of drug abuse made in the committee’s ROS report.
Exposing the exposer: Part 2
Scott Ng | January 14, 2015
The story of MIAR's Puspa Rani continues, with accounts of drug-fuelled suicide attempts.
The story of Puspa Rani of Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) is a convoluted one indeed. The evidence provided to FMT in regards to misappropriation of the NGOs’ funds was covered in the first part of this two-part article. The documents provided to us also address claims of drug abuse and attempted suicide by Puspa.
Here is the story as told in the ROS documents:
At the end of 2013, after many attempts from former MIAR Treasurer Debra Sharmain to obtain the NGO’s bank statements and receipts from Puspa so that she could close the accounts before her resignation, she was told by a former worker, Avinash Singh, that Puspa was in fact a drug addict and she is believed to have used the NGO funds to fuel her drug addiction. He revealed that Puspa had been a drug addict since she was 17 years old, and had on many occasions asked him to take time off work and procure drugs for her.
To see if Avinash’s claim was true, Debra requested MIAR’s bank statements from Puspa to see if there were any irregularities. But Puspa rebuffed all attempts by Debra to access the statements. As revealed in the first part of this report, RM173,300 of MIAR’s funds could not be accounted for. Maybank Kajang had released the transaction details as part of the investigation on alleged forgery of Debra’s signature on a cheque.
The suspicions came to a head on February 25, 2014, when Puspa phoned Debra, MIAR vice-president Shalinee Fernandez and other members of the committee and told them she wanted to commit suicide and that she had already injected into her body several vials of a controlled substance – Domi Injection 15mg (3ml Amp) Midazolam Hcl.
The committee members rushed to Puspa’s house and found her intoxicated, lying on a sofa in a state of undress. They also found around 15 to 20 used bottles of Domi and a syringe in Puspa’s bedroom. They then attempted to bring her to a hospital, but she became abusive and aggressive, lashing out at the committee verbally and physically.
At the Kajang General Hospital, Puspa’s behaviour became worse to a point that the hospital authorities asked that she be removed. She had become aggressive and verbally abusive to the hospital staff.
Puspa’s mother told the committee members to bring her back home. Subsequently her husband disclosed to the committee that Puspa had indeed been abusing drugs since she was 17 years old and had previously entered a drug rehabilitation facility called Pengasih.
Another suicide attempt
The next day, Puspa called two other volunteers, threatening that she was going to attempt suicide again. One of the volunteers informed the committee members about the call, and they rushed to Puspa’s house, where they found her in a state of disorder and high on drugs.
On that same day, Puspa called in another long time MIAR volunteer, and while in a drugged state she ordered him to take RM500, which was a cash donation to the NGO, and place it in her purse. When he refused, she proceeded to put the money into the purse herself.
Puspa kept insisting on going out by herself, thus the said volunteer, fearing for her safety due the state she was in, decided to follow her. Puspa had forced him to go to The Mines, Sri Kembangan so that she could pick up a fresh drop from her dealer.
It is believed that Puspa used the funds she misappropriated from MIAR to fuel her drug habit. In all probability the money was also used to fund her partying habits at nightclubs, as well as to buy luxury items.
If the account given by the members of the MIAR committee are indeed true, Puspa’s case is consistent with the manipulative and calculative behaviour often displayed by drug addicts on the hunt for their next fix. It is indeed disappointing to find out about the misappropriation of funds and the drug abuse as Puspa occupies a space in the public eye for animal lovers, and her work is supported by many members of the public.
Puspa Rani’s story, as told by the committee, is indeed a sad one, but one that warrants investigation to ascertain the truth.
Uncle Lee’s side of the animal abuse story
Amin Khairuddin | January 16, 2015
His world was turned upside down after MIAR's Puspa Rani turned up at his door.
MIAR2KUALA LUMPUR: What started out like any other day became a nightmare for Lee Kong Lai soon after Puspa Rani Thanabalasingam of Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) turned up at his door last December 14. His world was turned upside down.
Lee, fondly known as Uncle Lee, woke up on that day ready to head out for a quick but urgent errand. Around 8.30am, just as he was about to go out, Puspa appeared, introduced herself, and announced that she was there to help Lee and his numerous dogs.
Lee was suspicious. Why would someone trying to help him be accompanied by reporters and policemen? And then she showed him a police report claiming that there was a warrant against him and that she and her party had the right to seize any unhealthy or abused dog.
However, Puspa appeared to be a nice person and Lee soon began to trust her. Because of this and his need to go on his errand, he left the “visitors” in the care of his wife, and that’s when everything began spiralling out of control.
When he returned home, he found that 31 dogs had been taken away, and they were the healthy ones, he said.
The next day, he received another surprise when reports in the media said he was an animal abuser who was running a puppy mill, something he claims he is not.
Puspa was quoted by the media as saying it was the worst and biggest case of animal abuse she had ever seen.
Lee proceeded to lodge a police report, saying he doubted the legality of the raid in the first place. He claimed that Puspa did not show a warrant, and that the animals were taken by MIAR instead of the authorities present at the raid.
Lee said he contacted Puspa to find out the condition of his dogs, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase. He claimed that Puspa began feeding him with stories, such as that his dogs died during a flood at MIAR’s Kajang facility.
The 52-year-old mechanic said he was anxious to know the current condition of his dogs as he had been unable to contact Puspa since their last conversation.
Lee claims he is an avid animal lover and that he did not expect things to turn out this way. He said he never meant to break any law or offend anyone.
FMT spoke to dog lover Carol Ng, who backed Lee’s claims. According to Ng, she visited Lee’s home the night before the raid, after being invited by a few Facebook friends.
She said they suspected Lee was an illegal animal breeder and wanted to confirm the allegations.
Ng has since concluded that the allegations made by Puspa against Lee in the news reports were false and greatly exaggerated.
Although the conditions at Lee’s home seem dirty, Ng claims that all the dogs are healthy and happy, with no signs of breeding or abuse.
Post time 14-1-2015 12:21 PM
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