KL police: No tear gas fired into hospital

However there are numerous eyewitness accounts, photographic and video evidence to show that the police had infact fired tear gas into Tung Shin Hospital.

KUALA LUMPUR:  The city police have rejected accusations that its personnel had fired tear gas into the compound of the Tung Shin Hospital on Jalan Pudu during the Bersih rally yesterday.

City acting police chief Amar Singh was adamant that his men did not target the private hospital.

“… there was no tear gas thrown. I saw the whole incident, I was there,” he told reporters during a press conference, according to a Malaysiakini report today.

However there are numerous eyewitness accounts and photographic and video evidence to show that the police had infact fired tear gas and sprayed chemical-laced water into the hospital compound to lure out Bersih supporters.

When informed of these evidence, Amar said the police would investigate claims that water cannon was shot directly into the compound.

Yesterday, eyewitnesses, including several political leaders, claimed that police fired shots into the Tung Shin Hospital, where several hundreds of Bersih supporters had taken refuge after fleeing from police riot squads.

Speaking to FMT, DAP Serdang MP Teo Ni Ching said she witnessed the entire incident.

“The police were trying to march forward from both ends of the street. We had nowhere to run and started hiding ourselves and went into the Tung Shin hospital.

“Earlier, they only shot water cannon into the crowd on the street but then they started firing into the car park area of the hospital. It was followed by tear gas cannisters,” she said, adding that everyone tried to leave the compound through a slope and muddy backlane without proper walkways.

“I felt the sting of the teargas inside, how can the police deny it?” she asked.

Not enemy of the state


Teo said DAP today visited the hospital again with party leaders, including Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Tony Pua, and confirmed that patients were not affected.

“Thankfully, the main building was quite a distance from where the police fired their tear gas. But in any case, I think that police should never do something like that,” she said.

Pointing to the Geneva Convention 1949, Teo said that it stated that even during war time, no one should attack hospitals.

“We are not in the wartime. And we are not enemy of the nation. There is no reason for police to shoot tear gas and water cannon.

In the same press conference today, Amar also defended his mens’ action in employing “reasonable force” to disperse protesters, adding that the crowd had provoked police and were “not very friendly”.

He also stressed that the figures given by Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar yesterday of about 6,000 demonstrators were correct and not the 50,000 claimed by the Bersih 2.0 steering committee.
He also said that detainees were all released yesterday night and were treated very well.

“We spent RM25 on each detainee for their food and care, more than for our own policemen,” he said.

Man died due to heart complications

Amar also said that the death of a taxi driver who participated in the street demonstration was the
result of heart complications and not caused by the firing of tear gas or water cannon by the police to disperse the protesters.

Amar dismissed Twitter reports making the rounds that Baharudin Ahmad, 59, had died due to the police action when he was in the vicinity of KLCC.

“There was a death, but the death has got nothing to do with action taken by the police. The doctor in attendance confirmed that the death was due to heart complications,” he said at the same news conference.

Amar said Kuala Lumpur Hospital medical specialists tried their best to revive Baharudin at about 5.30 pm.

During the medical examination and the post-mortem conducted at 11.30 pm, it was determined that Baharudin suffered no internal or external injuries, he said.

Amar also said the police did not fire any tear gas or direct the water cannon to disperse the demonstrators in the vicinity of KLCC at the time that Baharudin was alleged to be there.

He said that while the police were trying to get the crowd to disperse, Baharudin ran towards KL Avenue and that was where he suffered breathing difficulty.