Bersih 3.0: When cops turn robbers

VOXPOP 'The cops did not confiscate the cameras belonging to the press and the public. They grabbed and kept the cameras.'

Cop concedes it's wrong to confiscate press cameras

Ferdtan: ASP Ong Beng Keong, we are not interested to hear from you that it is wrong for the police to confiscate press cameras - we know that even without you telling Suhakam.

As it is not an isolated random act by the police given that such illegal acts occurred in different places around Dataran Merdeka during Bersih 3.0, it must be a firm directive from top police officers.

We want to know who the officers who gave those instructions are. We would not be surprised if that trail leads to top government leaders. Those are the culprits we want caught, not the average police officers on the ground following orders.

Oscar Kilo: The cops did not confiscate the cameras belonging to the press and the public. They grabbed and kept the cameras.

My friend's expensive SLR camera was stolen by the police ‘samseng' (ruffians), never to be seen again. No documentation whatsoever.

Anonymous #19098644: The police are only following orders blindly. It is the fault of their political bosses - Umno - which has abused this state institution.

Keturunan Malaysia: We are not interested to hear ASP Ong, who only now conceding that confiscating cameras was wrong.

It is time the police punish the culprits who did it and people like Ong for not taking enough steps to make sure that it is absolutely costly for them to commit such wrongs.

We cannot tolerate excuses like these anymore. And you want us to trust the police?

Wira: Since there are no orders to confiscate cameras and personal belongings during an arrest, the police officers must individually and personally be made accountable for the damage and losses and for not following standard operating procedures.

YF: Talk is cheap. Any arrests so far? None. Any attempt at tracing the criminals so far? None. Any attempt to rebuke the force and implement reforms so far? None.

So what's the point of saying something that everyone has known all along, but doing nothing?

Janji Ditepati? More like ‘Kamera Dirampasi'. (Promises Kept? More like cameras seized).

'Journos put themselves in war zone during Bersih 3.0'

Hang Babeuf: "Journalists put themselves in war zone during Bersih 3.0," said ACP Jamaluddin Abdul Rahman at the Suhakam inquiry into alleged human rights abuses by authorities during the April 28 rally.

That may look like a strange claim. But it makes perfect sense - provided you decide, in the first place, that the situation is one where the government is waging war against its citizens.

Logical. Consistent. Just crazy. It is a view that some police decided to adopt on April 28. It is a view that this ACP grimly clings onto, even today.

Caesar's Wife: The site of the Bersih demonstration a "war zone"? How ludicrous.

The ACP needs a spell of duty in Syria or Afghanistan. Even at the height of the demonstrations in Tahrir Square, no journalists were assaulted or abused by the police. This man should be sacked.

Joker: Was there a war in Malaysia that the entire world did not know about? Journalists need to wear bullet proof vests while in Kuala Lumpur city centre?

And I thought Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and PM Najib Razak said Malaysia is the safest country in the world.

Armageddon: "If a riot occurs, they (the journalists) will be trapped between the two," argued ACP Jamaluddin. The question is, who started the riots, police or the demonstrators?

Anonymous_4196: War zone, what war zone? I thought it was a one-sided fight where the police did most of the beating, confiscating journalists' identification cards and camera?

Anonymous1234@): I blame BN for starting Bersih. If they have fair election, then there will not be a need for Bersih. - Malaysiakini