Probe on Bersih 2.0 police brutality complete

The full report on a probe into alleged police brutality during the Bersih 2.0 rally is expected to reach the cabinet soon, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

He said inspector-general of police Ismail Omar had on two separate occasions briefed him on the contents of the report, which is based on investigations carried out by six special committees set up to look into such complaints.

Hishammuddin, however, was sparse on the details of the report, saying that it is up to the IGP to reveal more over the next few days.

He added that whether or not the report will be made public will depend on the cabinet's decision after it has gone through the report.

“It depends on the cabinet and police advice. I would like it to be public and as transparent as possible,” he said at a press conference after meeting senior members of the national ex-police officers association.

Last July, the police announced that they had formed six committees to investigate claims of police brutality at the various hotspots where police fired tear gas at protesters during the July 9 event.

In what was seen as an attempt to quell public anger over the rampant use of tear gas and water cannons in and around Kuala Lumpur, both Ismail and his deputy, Khalid Abu Bakar, urged the public to provide police with video and photographic evidence to back their claims of police brutality.

The committees however did not probe the controversial siege on the Tung Shin Hospital, where eyewitnesses and protesters claimed that police had fired tear gas and a water cannon directly into the hospital compound.

'Action to be taken where necessary'

When pressed for more details on the report, Hishammuddin declined to give anything away, repeating that it is for Ismail to announce.

“I believe it is based on events alleged by certain quarters to have taken place, which are pro and against (police) action that has been taken. It is just a matter of informing the public based on investigations,” he said.

Hishammuddin did point out that the police will forward the report to the attorney-general should it point to any incident or action that is against the law, including on those lodging false reports claiming police brutality.

“Yes. Action will be taken as usual. (It will be taken against) whoever... nobody is above the law. The findings are not targeting anybody, it's just to find the truth,” he said.

Hishammuddin added that they will not give any special treatment to police officers found to have breached the police's standard operating procedures.

“But if there is something wrong with the SOP in the eyes of the public, that's another matter. You cannot blame them (police) for doing what they have been trained to do.”