Bersih leader blames police for bloody mugging
June 09, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Bersih steering committee member Wong
Chin Huat accused police today of focusing on quashing protests instead
of crime after he was left with a bloodied face from being mugged by a
group of bikers this morning.
The Monash University lecturer wrote on social media platform
Facebook that he was jogging near his home in Section 18, Petaling Jaya
at 7.40am when he was surrounded by a group of as least five young men
who attacked him when he tried to flee.
Wong sports a bloodied face after the mugging. — Picture courtesy of Wong Chin Huat
“I
had been a victim of police violence. Today I become a victim of police
failure in deterring crime. No, it was not politically motivated. They
were only after money.
“But rising crime rate is political. Was told another man was robbed
recently in that neighbourhood. Where are the police when we are not
demonstrating?” he wrote, referring to clashes between police and
supporters of Bersih’s April 28 rally for free and fair elections.
Wong has just been discharged from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre after an X-ray.
Bersih’s planned sit-in at Dataran Merdeka had descended into chaos
after some protestors tried to enter the historic square which the court
had barred to the public and the past month has seen authorities and
those backing the rally blaming each other for the violence that
resulted.
Several dozen members of the public have come forward with
allegations of police brutality while the police and Home Ministry
insist they have evidence that some who attended the rally wanted
bloodshed and even death.
The government has set up a panel to investigate the April 28
violence, but the choice of former police chief Tun Hanif Omar has been
widely criticised after he compared the movement to communism and
accused the organisers of an attempted coup.
The April 28 rally that saw tens of thousands gather at six different
locations before heading to Dataran Merdeka was peaceful until about
2.30pm when Bersih leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan asked the crowd to
disperse.
But her announcement was not heard by most of the crowd who persisted
to linger around the historic square which the court had already barred
to the public over the weekend.
Just before 3pm, some protestors breached the barricade surrounding
the landmark, leading police to disperse the crowd with tear gas and
water cannons.
Police then continued to pursue rally-goers down several streets amid
chaotic scenes which saw violence from both sides over the next four
hours.
Several dozen demonstrators have claimed that they were assaulted by
groups of over 10 policemen at a time and visual evidence appears to
back their claim but police also point to violence from rally-goers who
also attacked a police car.
The police car then crashed into a building before some protestors flipped it on its side.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR deputy president
Azmin Ali have been accused of ordering the breach and are currently
awaiting trial under the Peaceful Assembly Act for participating in an
illegal street assembly.
No comments:
Post a Comment