DIG Khalid Abu Bakar promises full cooperation for the inquiry to determine if the police used excessive force during the Bersih 2.0 rally.
SUBANG: The police have welcomed Suhakam’s decision to hold an open inquiry into allegations of excessive force used during last Saturday’s Bersih 2.0 rally.
“We will cooperate fully with Suhakam wherever the law requires us to,” Deputy Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told FMT in an text message yesterday.
Yesterday, Suhakam vice-chairman Prof Dr Khaw Lake Tee said the commission decided to hold an inquiry based on complaints of police brutality during the July 9 rally following two memorandums urging for an independent probe sent by PAS Youth, Suaram and Bersih 2.0.
“At the moment, the commission is in the midst of setting up the panel of inquiry and its terms of reference. Further details will be announced in two weeks,” read a statement by Suhakam yesterday.
The public has also been called to come forward as witnesses or to provide information or evidence to Suhakam.
On Saturday, tens of thousands defied police warnings not to participate in the rally and took to the streets of the capital. Police arrested a total of 1,667 protesters and had fired tear gas and their water cannons to disperse the crowd.
While the government denied that police had used excessive force, first hand accounts, video footage and photographs from the rally suggested otherwise.
Among others, the police were accused of firing tear gas into the Tung Shin Hospital compound and were also blamed for the death of one protester, Baharuddin Ahmad, 58.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.