Two men involved in stopping a bus ferrying foreigners who they believed were going to vote in the May 5 general election were charged in a Sessions Court in Klang today.
Yap Kwee Heng, 37, and Lim Siong Kuan, 32, were charged this morning under Section 148 for rioting and Section 427 with inflicting damage to property, re-elected Klang MP Charles Santiago said.
"Yap and Lim were granted bail of RM5,000 and RM2,000 respectively," Santiago said when contacted.
Yap and Lim had suspected “phantom voters” to be on board the bus they spotted circling the Pandamaran area on Sunday morning. They and seven others then tried tostop the bus.
Police moved in and escorted the bus and its passengers to the Pandamaran police station, where the passengers were allegedly investigated.
Santiago said he contacted the Election Commission immediately to resolve the matter but was told that the incident took place after the polling time ended at 5pm, and that the police considered it a criminal offence.
"But this matter happened at 4pm... So it should be viewed as a threat to national sovereignty instead," he said.
Yap Kwee Heng, 37, and Lim Siong Kuan, 32, were charged this morning under Section 148 for rioting and Section 427 with inflicting damage to property, re-elected Klang MP Charles Santiago said.
"Yap and Lim were granted bail of RM5,000 and RM2,000 respectively," Santiago said when contacted.
Yap and Lim had suspected “phantom voters” to be on board the bus they spotted circling the Pandamaran area on Sunday morning. They and seven others then tried tostop the bus.Police moved in and escorted the bus and its passengers to the Pandamaran police station, where the passengers were allegedly investigated.
Santiago said he contacted the Election Commission immediately to resolve the matter but was told that the incident took place after the polling time ended at 5pm, and that the police considered it a criminal offence.
"But this matter happened at 4pm... So it should be viewed as a threat to national sovereignty instead," he said.
'They were trying to protect democracy'
Santiago argued that Yap and Lim were only trying to protect the democracy of the country, and that police made no effort to prove the innocence of the foreigners in the bus.
"Nobody is going to listen to them anymore if they just say that these people did not vote."
The case against Yap and Lim will come before the court on June 19.
Earlier, China Press reported that the bus owner, Yayasan Sutera, had filed a police report denying the allegation and said the bus was merely providing transport to 54 foreign workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma, who had legitimate work permits.
South Klang district police chief Mohamed Mat Yusop was reported by the daily as saying that four individuals were arrested during the incident.
Mohamed was also quoted as saying that the bus was not heading to a polling station but passed it on the way to its next destination.
Santiago argued that Yap and Lim were only trying to protect the democracy of the country, and that police made no effort to prove the innocence of the foreigners in the bus.
"Nobody is going to listen to them anymore if they just say that these people did not vote."The case against Yap and Lim will come before the court on June 19.
Earlier, China Press reported that the bus owner, Yayasan Sutera, had filed a police report denying the allegation and said the bus was merely providing transport to 54 foreign workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma, who had legitimate work permits.
South Klang district police chief Mohamed Mat Yusop was reported by the daily as saying that four individuals were arrested during the incident.
Mohamed was also quoted as saying that the bus was not heading to a polling station but passed it on the way to its next destination.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.