A police detective, Shahril Fadzali, refuted allegations that force was used on a youthful Bersih 2.0 participant.

He told the public inquiry held by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today that 21-year-old Hanafi Hawari was struggling to break free from the police when he was caught on July 9 during the electoral reform rally.

“He was aggressive and trying to stop us from arresting him, so there was a struggle to keep him still and put on the plastic handcuffs,” said Shahril, who is currently based at the district police headquarters in Pontian, Johor.

NONE Beyond that Shahril said no force was used on Hanafi ( right ), as after he was handcuffed, he stopped struggling.

Shahril's testimony is in contrast to Hanafi's statement to the inquiry earlier, where he claimed that he was "kicked, beaten and pepper-sprayed".

Hanafi had also testified that three or four police personnel assaulted him and hurled abuses, including threatening to rape his mother.

Recounting the incident, Shahril said that the police charged in to arrest the demonstrators who were in disarray after several canisters of tear gas were used to disperse the crowd that assembled along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in front of Maju Junction.

“Hanafi seemed to have fallen over and several other police officers had already caught him before I joined them. I helped hold him still for them to put on the handcuffs,” Shahril told the inquiry, and also denied the use of chemical-laced water cannon.

In reply to conducting officer Ameer Izyanif Hamzah, who asked if Shahril knew how Hanafi “fell over”, the police officer said: “I was walking him to vehicle to take him to the Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters, I asked why he was on the ground and he said he tripped over his shoelaces.”

He also told a member of the Bar Council's watching brief, Lim Chee Wee, that Hanafi “was injured” but “did not notice where”.

“Hanafi was not aggressive after the arrest and he was quiet all the way to the Jinjang lock-up,” Shahril replied to Lim’s questions.

“In your opinion was the Bersih rally considered a threat?” asked Lim, to which Shahril said “No”.

He agreed with Lim that there were no damage to property and it posed no threat to public safety.

Shahril added that apart from a firearm and a gas mask, he was not supplied with a pepper spray.

'Injuries to face'

Another police officer, Anuar Abdur Rajik, whose specific duties involved transporting the captured demonstrators to the Jinjang lock-up, also said that he saw Hanafi's face was injured when he accompanied the latter to Jinjang.

“Was Hanafi's face covered or masked as seen in the photo during the journey?” asked another member of the Bar Council’s watching brief, Richard Wee.

“I didn’t notice, I can’t recall,” said Anuar, to which Wee followed with another question if Hanafi could have been hurt upon struggling to avoid being arrested, and Anuar said that was a possibility.

The police officers were the 14th and 15th witnesses to testify in the inquiry with the following 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.

The inquiry is headed by Suhakam vice-chairperson Khaw Lake Tee, and commissioners Mahmood and Detta Samen.

The inquiry resumes with Dr Abd Adzim E Arim Sasi, who attended to Hanafi's injuries at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

 

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