Cop: We did not ram Mat Sabu, he hit us

A police officer told the public inquiry into the Bersih 2.0 rally that a police vehicle did indeed make contact with a motorcycle which was ferrying PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

Assistant Superintendent Kamal Khan Mohd Shariff, who witnessed the incident, blamed the incident on the motorcycle, claiming that it had collided with a police patrol car.

Kamal’s testimony at the inquiry conducted by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) contradicts earlier statements made by Federal Public Order and Internal Security Department director Salleh Rashid.

Salleh had told a media briefing on July 21 that CCTV recordings showed that Mohamad’s vehicle crashed into a road divider, causing the two riders to fall on the pavement.

During the incident, Kamal said he was traveling in an unmarked 4WD vehicle, which was trailed by an unmarked police car and a patrol car.

He said the convoy had spotted four men on two motorcycles along Jalan Maharajalela behaving suspiciously at about noon on July 9 and followed them until they reached Jalan Travers.

At this point, the motorcyclist were repeatedly told to stop, to no avail.

“I went by the side of the motorcycle and showed my authority card. I instructed the motorcyclists to stop but they did not do so.

“I also asked one of the officers in the Waja (which has ‘police’ marked on the vehicle) to also go by their side and he showed his authority card, but the motorcyclist did not stop,” he said.

Kamal said they followed the motorcycles for about 15 minutes until they reached Jalan Travers.

Then, he said his 4WD vehicle tried to overtake the motorcycles and told them that they are from the police.

“However, they made a U-turn. The two Proton Waja cars behind us immediately moved to block the road.

“The first motorcycle, however, was heading downhill and hit the police car which was stationary,” he said.

‘Mat Sabu could walk’

Kamal said as a result of the collision, Mohamad’s knee hit the bumper of the patrol car, resulting in him falling on the left side of the road.

He said Mohamad did not show any signs of injury that rendered him immobile.

“He could walk unassisted at that time. However, upon bringing him to Jinjang police station, Mat Sabu (Mohamad’s nickname) wanted to seek medical treatment and we provided him with medical treatment.

“Then one of my officers informed us that Mat Sabu wanted an X-ray for his leg following the injury. We brought him to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital where the X-ray was performed and then he was brought back to the Jinjang police station,” he said.

Kamal denied that the police car had struck the motorcycle as alleged by Mohamad yesterday.

Kamal was stumped when commissioner Detta Samen asked the officer whether any reasonable person on a motorcycle or sane person would want to run into a car for fear of getting hurt.

“The motorcycle is a smaller vehicle while the car is bigger and heavier,” said Detta.

The officer seemed defensive when pressured by the commissioners, and said any sane person would not hit a car but it may depend on the individual.

He further added that he cannot answer the question exactly as the right person who could give a better reply was the driver of the Proton Waja police car.

“I was in the Pajero and I could not see things clearly,” he said.

The public inquiry continues on Nov 22 and 23 with the commissioners, Bar Council representatives and the police expected to visit the scene of the disputed incident.