Candlelight vigil No 4 aborted

The fourth candlelight vigil, which took place in Cheras tonight, was aborted after the police issued severe warnings that all participants would be arrested.

DAP Youth, the organiser of the vigil meant to mourn the ‘death of democracy’ in Perak, had to call off the gathering outside the party’s Cheras service centre at about 9.15pm.

As in previous vigils, there was a show of force by the police, who came in three patrol cars.

According to DAP parliamentarian for Cheras Tan Kok Wai, the police had threatened to detain the 20-odd participants, many of whom were seen dressed in black.

After failing to negotiate with the police to allow them to hold a short vigil, Tan decided to abort the event.

Tan revealed that he had earlier submitted an application for a police permit to hold the vigil.

"Since the police have neither approved or rejected the application, we took it that they had approved it," said Tan.

He added that the police had tonight "verbally" rejected his application on the spot.

They would spare no one

At a press conference later, Tan - who was flanked by Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun and Kampung Tunku state assemblyperson Lau Weng San - said the police would not spare anyone from arrest.

He however vowed that tonight’s unsuccessful vigil would not stop them from organising more such gatherings and other forms of protest.

"Even tomorrow we would gather in front of the Pandan Indah police station at 8.30am to seek the release of (state assemblyperson) Jenice Lee and 15 others," he said.

"If the police do not release them by tomorrow, we will raid them," Tan joked, referring to the police raid at the party headquarters a few hours earlier.

Met later, Dapsy secretary Loh Chee Heng revealed that a Special Branch officer had informed him that the permit for tonight's vigil was rejected as a result of “instruction from the top".

"The Special Branch officer told me that the Home Ministry would not tolerate any open-air gathering," claimed Loh.

A few minutes after the press conference, several DAP supporters nevertheless lit candles in front of the service centre. Again, the police ordered them to snuff the candles out.

The duo continue to hold the candles for a few minutes and they were joined by another two individuals nearby.

The police officers warned that if they refused to put the candles out, they would be arrested.

Tan came to their defence arguing that it was not against the law for gatherings involving only two individuals.

The officers then demanded the four to show their identity cards. They obliged and subsequently at about 10.30pm, the crowd dispersed.

27 arrested in previous vigils

In three previous vigils, a total of 27 people were arrested with 16 still being detained by the police.

The first vigil on Tuesday night at DAP parliamentarian Teresa Kok’s Seputeh office resulted in 11 people arrested , including Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching and Teratai state assemblyperson Lee. They were released six hours later.

However, the following vigil outside Teo’s service centre in Serdang went off without a hitch .

The police allowed the participants to gather for about 15 minutes before dispersing.

On Thursday however, 16 people were arrested at the DAP Teratai service centre.

Those arrested, including Lee, have since been held at the Pandan Indah police lock-up to facilitate investigation.

This evening, at 6.25pm, a team of 11 police officers raided the DAP headquarters in Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya and confiscated a computer and a number of CDs.

It is learnt that in addition to investigating the 16 for illegal assembly, the police are probing them under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

At the Teratai candlelight vigil, DAP had distributed a two-page leaflet titled ‘507 Detik Hitam dalam Sejarah Demokrasi Malaysia!’ (507 - A Black Moment in Malaysia’s History of Democracy).

Under the PPPA, a person could be charged for publishing an illegal leaflet or for spreading false news.