A public inquiry into the Bersih 2.0 rally began today, with a witness testifying that he saw a woman being pushed roughly to the ground by the police on Jalan Tun Sambanthan as several individuals were being arrested.

Kenneth Steven Chan Wen Chin told members of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) - which is conducting the inquiry - that he had taken the LRT from Kelana Jaya about 3pm on July 9.

NONE "We wanted to get off at Pasar Seni but (the station) was closed. My girlfriend, who works in the media, was with me, and we walked along Jalan Pudu towards Maybank.

“This was my first experience in being in a rally and I was wearing yellow. A group of people warned (us that) tear gas (was being fired).

“We then headed to Jalan Tun Sambanthan, where we heard police personnel shouting "Tangkap! Tangkap!" (Arrest! Arrest!). We saw them arresting a Malay woman very roughly, pushing her head down on the road," Chan said.

NONE The woman was released after she identified herself as a member of Selangor TV, he said.

Chan ( left ) said his girlfriend took photos of the incident and that the police were also rough with her, pushing the camera against her face.

In addition, he saw several police personnel kicking a boy on Jalan Pudu, and that photos were also taken of this incident.

"The police warned us against taking pictures, saying they would break our camera. The boy was saying something about the police and they moved in on him."

Chan was the first witness to testify in the inquiry which has set itself these terms of reference:

  • To identify human rights violations on or before July 9;
  • To determine how the violations occurred, and to identify the process and agency involved; and
  • To make recommendations to prevent a recurrence.

NONE The inquiry is headed by Suhakam vice-chairperson Khaw Lake Tee (left) , and commissioners Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid and Detta Samen.

The Bar Council is represented by Roger Chan and Richard Wee, while the police force is represented by ASP N Rajagopal and ASP Lim Chee Wah.

Chan further said he had not gone that day to participate in the rally, but out of curiosity.

"I had not registered myself as a voter but following the incident, I have decided to register myself."

Questioned by Mahmood Zuhdi, he said he found that the photos - tendered as evidence - were “out of the ordinary” as such incidents do not occur every day.

To a question from Wee, Chan said he had not seen teargas canisters being fired into Tung Shin Hospital, but that he had seen water cannon being directed at the compound.

Chan's girlfriend Rita Lee, 30,who works with MSN.com, was the second witness. She told the inquiry  that her only experience of being handled roughly that day was when her camera was pushed against her face by a policeman.

This happened when she took pictures of police acting roughly on the female reporter from Selangor TV.

NONE Several photographs taken by Lee ( right) were tendered as evidence, one of these depicting a policeman placing his M-16 rifle on the ground, about which she remarked, “Isn't this dangerous?”

Lee also told the inquiry that a man wearing a Bersih T-shirt was arrested by police officers who were rough with him, despite the man not putting up any resistance nor using any vulgar word.

“There were four or five policemen arresting him. I did not see any reason why they needed so many men to arrest a person who did not put up any resistance,” she said, adding that this incident took place on Jalan Pudu.

“I also saw police personnel pushing the arrested man's head down on the road, resulting in his face becoming slightly red (with bruises), as you can see in the shot. I was also warned by a policeman, who tried to stop me from taking pictures of this, but I kept taking shots.”

Lawyer: Police fired tear gas at crowd

The next witness was lawyer Nursyazwani Muharam, 25, one of the Bar Council on duty at the Bersih rally, who were also there to provide legal help to those requiring it.

Nursyazwani ( right ) told the panel that she saw men from the Federal Reserve Unit fire tear gas straight at a crowd near Masjid Jamek.

suhakam inquest on bersih rally 111011 witness noorsyazwani muharam “I was out observing with four other volunteers and saw the police firing the tear gas straight at the crowd. I thought it was against procedure for them to fire directly at the crowd,” she said.

Normally, FRU or Light Strike Force unit members are required to fire at an arc and not directly at the people.

Nursyazwani said she earlier saw several tear gas munitions fired near Dataran Merdeka, near the Bar Council building.

Throughout her observation, she said, the crowds of protesters did not provoke the police, acted civilly and did not use violence despite being arrested.

Nursyazwani also said that other than the firing of the tear gas straight at the crowds, she did not observe any other violation committed by the police.

Replying to questions from Rajagopal, the lawyer agreed that this was her first time observing a public rally and that she was not familiar with police procedures.

“I could hear the police ringing bells and warning the crowd to disperse. They rang the bell several times before moving in,” she said.

Suhakam presenting officer Ameer Izyanif Hamzah asked the preliminary questions.

The inquiry continues on Nov 15.

Mat Sabu to testify in Suhakam inquiry into rally