You did good, boy: Johor Deputy Police Chief Deputy Comm M. Kumar (middle) awarding Jinuo a medal while state police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat (left) looks on.
JOHOR BARU: From a young age, Sjn Donny Henry has always had a soft spot for animals.
So, he was obviously delighted when he was selected to be part of the K9 unit some 22 years ago.
His love for the four-legged cops has only grown stronger over the years as he worked alongside four dogs in the unit.
“It can be challenging at first as each dog has its own temperament. But after some time, working alongside them is a great delight,” said the 43-year-old who is currently posted at the Johor Baru South police headquarters.
“They are extremely intelligent and it takes only about four months to train them before they can start help to solve crimes,” he said after the Johor police monthly assembly here yesterday.
Sjn Donny said that during his two decades in the K9 unit, he has worked with four dogs, three of which have died of old age.
“For me, the most difficult and heartbreaking part of being the handler of the canine was to see them dying of old age after years of serving the department.
“We usually start training the dogs when they are about four months old and will be with them until they retire at about 12 years of age. “They have become a very important part of my life and it is always sad to see a good friend die,” he said.
The dogs that had died were named New, Zoran and Skipper.
Sjn Donny’s current four-legged partner is a 12-year-old German Shepherd named Jinuo, which has served the unit for about a decade.
Jinuo was among four K9 unit dogs that received awards from Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat for their successes in solving crimes for the department.
“Jinuo received the award after successfully finding two CCTV decoders that were hidden by a suspect.
“Previously, Jinuo had also been involved in many other cases, including those related to murder and drug cases,” Sjn Donny said, adding that he was proud of his four-legged partner.
The other three dogs that received similar recognition for their services were a six-year-old German Shepherd named Mailo, a five-year-old Labrador named Julius and a nine-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Mate.
Apart from the four dogs, Comm Kamarul also handed over certificates to some 48 people, including members of the public, policemen and media practitioners.
Earlier in his speech, the state top cop said Johor police had solved about 56.84% of the cases they received last year.
“Some 2,921 cases under the Commercial Crime Investigation Department were opened last year where 1,450 have been prosecuted.
“Meanwhile, the Johor Narcotics Crime Investigation Department has arrested a total of 14,655 people for various offences and seized a total of RM14.6mil worth of drugs,” he said, highlighting that the department had also foiled 16 drug distribution syndicates.
He noted that some 152 investigation papers involving 205 policemen had also been opened in 2022 under the Integrity and Standards Compliance (JIPS) Department.
“This is a drop of about 40% compared to 2021 where 256 investigation papers were opened.
“However, it cannot be denied that there are still those who failed to be disciplined or have integrity.
“Last year, seven policemen were sacked while eight others have been suspended,” he said.
