Suhakam: Cops infringed on human rights at Bersih 2.0 rally

KUALA LUMPUR: Suhakam's public inquiry into the Bersih 2.0 rally has found that there were human rights infringement by the Royal Malaysia Police.

Panel chairman Prof Datuk Dr Khaw Loke Tee highlighted certain instances where it showed police infringing human rights and endangering public safety, including the incidents at KL Sentral and Tung Shin Hospital.

Dr Khaw, who is also Suhakam commissioner, said Friday the panel had found that the shooting of tear gas by the police at opposite directions at KL Sentral could possibly have caused injury or death to the participants of the rally who were in the vicinity.

"A (video) clip submitted to the panel showed a police officer not shooting the canister to the ground and possibly causing the injury of Fayyadh Afiq Albakqry (the bodyguard of Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim)," she said when she read out the 40-page public inquiry report on the allegations of human rights infringement, including the use of excessive force before and after the rally on July 9 last year.

It was reported that Fayyadh alleged that the light strike force had aimed directly at Anwar and he (Fayyadh) had sustained injuries to his face when protecting Anwar.

She said the panel had found through evidence that the method used to disperse the crowd at KL Sentral was not suitable because of the location.

"During the panel's visit to the location, we found that the area was half enclosed and the access for the participants to disperse orderly and safely was limited as there was only one staircase and one escalator to exit," she said.

During a press conference after reading out the report, she said that should not have happened.

"There was probably a failure ... a breakdown in communication between the two teams firing the tear gas," she said.

As for Tung Shin Hospital and Chinese Maternity Hospital, she said even if the tear gas was not fired directly into the compound, the firing along Jalan Pudu itself could have endangered the public.

"Even if it's not directly into those areas but the fact that it was fired in the vicinity was sufficient to cause danger to the patients or schoolchildren," she said.

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