Eight police reports over police abuse

Eight Bersih 3.0 participants who claimed to be assaulted by the police on Saturday lodged reports on the matter.

PETALING JAYA: Eight participants of the recent Bersih 3.0 rally lodged police reports today claiming they were assaulted by the police during the rally.
The victims, accompanied by Suaram’s executive director E Nalini and Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, lodged the reports with the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
On Saturday, the police dispersed the crowd gathered at the nation’s capital using tear gas and water cannon after protesters breached the police barricade near Dataran Merdeka.
Several journalists were also assaulted along with other protesters.
Speaking of his ordeal, 25-year-old Mohd Faizal Nurhakim Mohd Esah said he was beaten by two police officers.
The engineer also said that the attacks happened without provocation.
“While they were taking me to Dataran Merdeka for detention, police officers stationed at the surrounding area sprayed water on me and beat me up as well,” said Faizal.
He said the assault had left him with several injuries on his back and a swelling on his right shoulder.
“I can’t sleep well now and I suffer pain whenever I try to move my shoulder,” said Faizal who added that he had yet to receive his medical report.
Another victim, Lau Chee Sun,41, claimed that a tear gas canister was shot directly at his left shoulder on that day.
“I was heading from Jalan Tun Perak to Jalan Raja when I saw two tear gas canisters being shot from a LRT track above me,” said Lau.
However, he did not see police officers aiming the canisters at him.
Lau said that he fell unconscious for a while after seeing his left shoulder bleeding. “It was the thought of my family that kept me going,” added the tea trader.
Legal action against cops mulled
Meanwhile, Jashamsulnizam Md Jani, 26, alleged that he was assaulted and thrown into a drain.
“It was chaotic after the cops shot tear gas at us. As I was running, three policemen caught me from behind,” said the lecturer at a private college.
He claimed that he was later assaulted repeatedly before being thrown into a drain near the DBKL office.
“I climbed out of the drain myself and walked all the way to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment,” he added.
Although he was not detained, Jashamsulnizam suffered a bone fracture on his right hand and dislocated his right knee cap due to the abuse.
In a related matter, Fadiah said LFL was still in the midst of documenting more complaints on police abuse during Bersih 3.0.
“We also considering filing a legal suit against the authorities,” she said.