Police today denied they had anything to do with the death of Bersih 2.0 protester Baharudin Ahmad yesterday, claiming that the latter had died of a heart attack and not from complications arising from exposure to tear gas.

NONE Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Amar Singh said a post mortem preliminary report indicated that the deceased had died from a prevailing heart condition.

"During our investigation, we found no external injuries, neither were there internal injuries. Preliminary investigations show his heart was slightly swollen and three arteries were blocked," he said at a press conference today.

Yesterday it was reported that Baharudin, who according to police was a rally participant, had fainted after he was allegedly hit by tear gas fired by riot police at one of the crowds assembled at KLCC.

He was rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, where he was later declared dead.

NONE Amar said police launched an immediate investigation following the numerous claims on social networking sites that Baharudin was a victim of police brutality.

Amar said the deceased had been running from the police and managed to get into Avenue K, located next door to KLCC.

“When he reached Avenue K, he started having difficulty breathing, and was brought by ambulance to HKL.

"With the distance he was running... you must understand that this crowd had been moving from location to location, there was a long distance going.

“So you can see, with these three (artery) blockages, you may have some problems as you go along,” he said, while also denying that police had used tear gas to disperse the crowd at KLCC.

Amar however evaded questions on why Baharudin was running away from the police in the first place, saying only that the crowd dispersed on the approach of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) members.

When asked about a video that has been circulating online, allegedly showing Baharudin being assaulted and cuffed by police, Amar said those who have evidence to support the claim should hand it over to the police.

“If you have evidence, please show it to us. We will gladly receive it,” he said.

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