Bersih 3.0: Asrul's eye hit by tear gas may go blind

One the most serious victims of tear gas during the chaos of Bersih 3.0 rally has come forward today to tell his tale of woe.
 

If his condition does not improve in six months, Asrul Wadi Ahmad, 26, from Kepala Batas, who has been reviewed by four doctors, may be diagnosed as blind in the right eye.

Asrul told a press conference in Penang that the situation was calm when he was participating in the Bersih protest on April 28 around Masjid Jamek, but suddenly turned chaotic when the tear gas was fired into the crowd and he was hit by a tear gas canister directly on his face at about 3.15pm.

He fell to the ground and was assisted by members of the public who took him to a nearby hospital, where he was given nine stitches below his eyes.

Asrul said, “I lost vision in my right eye, and whenever I look, there is a black spot in my vision. The doctors I consulted told me that the impact on my eye had been due to an object which hit it at high speed.”

When asked if he regretted his decision to participate in the rally, Asrul said no as this was the people's struggle and added that he would join another rally if a Bersih 4.0 was organised.
 

He stressed that as youths of the nation, they had a responsibility to ensure that their country remained democratic.

Asrul, who had been offered a job as a mechanical engineer in a manufacturing company in Penang before the Bersih event, has lost his job. He lamented, saying, “They told me the job needs someone with good eyesight, and with my condition, I can no longer be a suitable employee.”

He is in the process of initiating legal action against the police for his condition.

The Bersih event, following the firing of tear gas, had resulted in scores injured, including journalists covering the event, who claimed they were victims of police brutality.