Inspector General of Police Mohd Bakri Omar has defended his men for violently breaking up a peaceful demonstration against the price hikes in fuel and electricity on Sunday.

"The police have got a job to do (and) they were merely doing their job. I defend the action of my officers and men," he told a press conference after attending a certificate-awarding ceremony held at the Police Training Centre in Cheras this morning.

On Sunday, 20 people were arrested and at least two protestors were seriously injured after being assaulted by baton-wielding riot police in front of the iconic Kuala Lumpur City Centre as shocked shoppers looked on.

One of the protestors, Amran Zulkifli, was hospitalised and given five stitches on his head, while another victim, Lim Ban Teng, had right hand broken.

Police were also seen kicking PKR deputy secretary-general Zahir Hassan a number of times in front of his two terrified daughters while he laid sprawled on the road.

However, the police chief appeared not fully aware of the gravity of the situation as the mainstream media had not given much coverage to the event.

Malaysiakini: Police dispersed a group of protestors ... on Sunday and a few of them were seriously injured...

Mohd Bakri: How serious are they? I don't know how serious they are.

Malaysiakini: They were hospitalised. Is such force and violence justifiable?

Mohd Bakri: The police have been tasked into looking after law and order - that's our basic function. If you refer to section 33 of the Police Act, which is available in the major bookstores in town, then you should know our function. We have got to maintain law and order.

If people start going to the streets, demonstrate, and if the police do nothing about it, it will affect the flow of traffic, it will threaten the safety of the location. If it is a business centre, then people will shy away (from it), people will not go to that premise anymore and it causes a lot of disturbance to the peace.

So we have a job to do, and my men have a job to do, and that is why they advised (the protestors) ... (to) get this group to disperse. In the course of it - if you go ahead and confront the police - the police have the right to defend themselves... If they took the police advice to disperse, maybe there would not be a single arrest. If the police said bersurai, bersurai (disperse), and they bersurai, nothing will happen.

If you stay on, and go against the instruction, the police have got a job to do, (and) they were merely doing their job. I defend the action of my officers and men.

Malaysiakini: But video recordings showed the protestors were in the midst of dispersing but the police still chased after them and beat them up. They were also women and children among the protestors.

Mohd Bakri: It is most unfortunate that the police have to resort to use minimum force - that was minimum force - it was never their intention to cause harm. Never.

Bloody Sunday

Numerous organisations and opposition leaders have strongly condemned the police's aggression against the 500-odd protestors in what supposedly to be the final of a series of protests against the fuel price hike.

However, after what has been dubbed as 'Bloody Sunday', the protest organisers said they would not be cowed by the police violence as they mull on holding yet another rally.

The previous two of the three protests had also seen the police using water cannons to disperse the crowd and made a number of arrests.

However, the first protest - on March 3 - ended on a peaceful note as the police did not take action against the demonstrators.

Photo gallery

Video footage