'I hope everyone can forgive me': Man who set dog on fire turns himself in to Thai police

After igniting the fury of Thai and Singaporean netizens alike in a video where he set his dog's fur on fire, the man at the centre of the controversy has apologised and turned himself in to Thai police.

Samuel Woo had triggered widespread anger after sharing a series of disturbing videos of him abusing his dog on his Facebook stories on Nov 3. 

In the videos, Woo was shown setting the dog's fur ablaze multiple times and attempting to hit it with a helmet.

The Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and local police had attempted to locate the dog, but their investigations revealed that it was not in Singapore.

In a complete 180 degree shift from an earlier post that challenged netizens to take the dog from him, Woo apologised for his actions in a sombre Facebook video today (Nov 5) and assured netizens that the incident was "the first and the last time" that he had abused his dog.

Woo, who is currently in Thailand, also clarified that the videos in question had been filmed "a few months back" and said that the dog was "okay".

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/samuel.wzh/videos/2370416006541065/[/embed]

He also alluded to his mental health struggles in another Facebook post, calling himself "sick" and saying that he was seeking medical help.

"I will go for my treatment and eat med (sic). I hope everyone can forgive me don't give up on me," he added.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/samuel.wzh/posts/2370426389873360[/embed]

A woman, Min Min Yo, who said she was his ex-girlfriend, joined Woo in his apology video, sitting beside him and translating his statements into Thai.

She also said that she would take good care of the dog and thanked netizens for their concern about it.

Making good on his promise to turn himself in, Woo later posted a picture of himself at a Thai police station.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/samuel.wzh/posts/2370421069873892[/embed]

His apology appears to have won netizens over, judging from the encouraging comments and well wishes on his posts. 

ALSO READ: Man films himself setting fire to dog, posts it on Facebook

kimberlylim@asiaone.com