Two men were detained after they took to the internet to criticize a police officer for beating a dog to death in public.
Footage of a police officer in China beating a tied-up golden retriever to death with a thick wooden pole in front of a horrified crowd has gone viral. Numerous pictures and videos of the scene were posted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter around the New Year.
The brutal attack on the dog sparked fury among web users causing multiple people to criticize the police officer.
Both men are from Changsha Municipal City, the capital of Hunan Province.
Along with lambasting the police officer, many social media users also expressed outrage at the onlookers for not stopping the attack on the dog.
Chinese society continues to be tightly controlled by the Party and many Chinese people fear the repercussions of speaking up against violence and police brutality.
There are an increasing amount of Chinese social media users reporting on events that expose police brutality and how the Chinese regime has utter disregard for life. Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the lack of freedom of speech and freedom of expression means that anyone speaking out against the government or police can end up imprisoned and even subjected to torture.
The dog was tied to a barrier in the middle of the street. The owner of the animal was not present at the time of the beatings.
Police said they are still investigating other suspects for criticizing the police officer and warned people to “make complaints through a reasonable and legal way,” according to the statement.
