Police teams say colleagues not responsible for Baharuddin’s death

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

July 21, 2011

Baharuddin being laid to rest at the Keramat cemetery July 10 2011. — Picture by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Six special teams who probed police action at the July 9 rally concluded police did not cause Bersih supporter Baharuddin Ahmad’s death.

Internal security andpublic order director Datuk Salleh Mat Rashid said today that Baharuddin’s death was due to a heart attack. He moved to defend the police, saying that the police were only informed of Baharuddin’s condition at 5.25pm that day — after he had passed away.

“Baharuddin’s death had nothing to do with tear gas, police violence or ambulance delay.

“The police only received information after a Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) doctor reported Baharuddin’s death at 5.25pm,” he told a news conference today.

Salleh pointed out that CCTV recordings on July 9 showed Baharuddin entering Avenue K centre and was found lying down there moments later, disputing previous reports stating that he died during a scuffle with the police at KLCC.

“Post-mortem found that there were no physical injuries..it was a heart attack. But the cause of death is ‘pending lab analysis’,” said Salleh who added that the ambulance too 17 minutes to arrive and attend to Baharuddin.

Salleh also refuted an online video showing a man said to be Baharuddin suffering from breathing difficulties and unattended by police for a long time before he was carried into a police car.

“That man is not Baharuddin...he is Shuhari Mat Isa, who we believe was a key player in the illegal gathering,” said Salleh.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has been put on the defensive over the Bersih rally for the past week as the international community, from Singapore to the UK, criticised the government’s handling of the public dissent.

Bersih estimates that 50,000 people showed up at the July 9 rally for free and fair elections despite efforts to prevent it from taking place while police have said there were only 6,000.

The protest turned chaotic when police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of demonstrators, resulting in nearly 1,700 arrests, scores injured and the death of ex-soldier Baharuddin Ahmad, 59.

The government has promised to investigate allegations of police brutality while the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will hold a separate public inquiry into police conduct during the rally.