Police allegedly beat up bystander, charge him

17-year-old Thiagaraj Chanmukam had the worst day in his life on June 4 when he was allegedly assaulted and subsequently charged by the police - and all he did was glue his eyes on a gang fight.

He was following Hindu temple procession when his attention was grabbed by a fracas in front of an Internet cafe near Plaza Crystal Villa, Setapak Danau Kota.

A teenage acquaintance of his, who was involved in the fight, broke free and ran to him with a bag and asked him to throw it away.

Out fear, Thiagaraj (right) did so and a little later five plainclothes police officers approached and asked him if he was the "cike boy".

"When I admitted that was my nickname, they started attacking me.

"They asked for the bag, but in between the blows, I pointed to the spot where I had flung it, but they still continued beating me," he said.

The fifth-form student required two stitches to his head, suffered a fractured right finger, and bruises on his chest.

"Apparently the bag belongs to a policeman, but why did they have to victimise a kid for a crime that he was not responsible?" asked Thiagarajan Manivanan Gowin, a friend of Thiagaraj.

[More to follow]