Cops kicked boy, pushed girl to ground, Bersih inquiry told

Protesters fleeing after another round of tear gas during the Bersih rally, from the file pics.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Riot police violently shoved a tudung-clad reporter to the ground while others repeatedly kicked a boy during the Bersih 2.0 rally crackdown, a witness told a public inquiry into the July 9 protests today. Kenneth Steven Chan Wen Chin told the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) inquiry he saw a Selangor TV female reporter accosted in Brickfields.
“We were headed to Jalan Tun Sambanthan where we heard police personnel shouting “Tangkap! Tangkap!” (Arrest! Arrest!). We saw a Malay girl with a tudung, police grabbed her and pushed her to the ground very roughly, pushing her head down on the road,” said Chan.
He said his girlfriend, who is a reporter, was present with him when the incident happened and they took pictures.
Chan also claims he saw several policemen kicking a boy in Jalan Pudu, and that he had also taken photographs of the alleged incident.
“The police warned us against taking pictures, saying they would break our camera. The boy was saying something about the police and they moved in on him.”
Chan is the first witness to testify in the inquiry which has set itself three terms of references- to identify human rights violations on or before July 9, to determine how the violations occurred, the process and agency involved and to make recommendations to prevent any recurrence.
The inquiry is led by Suhakam vice-chairman Professor Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee, commissioners Datuk Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid and Detta Samen.
The Bar Council is represented by Roger Chan and Richard Wee, while the police is represented by ASP N Rajagopal and ASP Lim Chee Wah.