Two of the three individuals arrested for bringing food to their detained compatriots during an aborted peace walk on May Day were charged in the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court today for 'disorderly conduct' at the Dang Wangi police station.

Technician E Saravanan, 31 and book store manager T Mohan, 36, were told that they have been charged under Section 90 of the Police Act for "shouting on top of their voices that police are cruel for not giving food to the detainees" at the police station.

Under Section 34 of the Penal Code, the charge carries a maximum of RM500 fine, six months' jail or both.

Saravanan and Mohan pleaded not guilty and magistrate Syafeera Mohd Said fixed trial next July.

Crane operator A Ramu, 36, who were arrested with the three, did not turn up today and no charge was read for him. It is learnt that he will be charged at a later date.

Bail too high

Lawyer for the trio, Latheefa Koya lamented that bail was set too high for ordinary citizens. She told the court that her clients were respectable members of society and would attend their trial, hence there was no need to fix such a high bail

"Bail was initially fixed at RM5,000 but lawyer Edmund Bon and I pleaded for it to be reduced. After a long debate, the bail was only reduced to RM1,500," she later told malaysiakini

The duo managed to post bail at RM1,500 each.

On May 1, 17 labour activists were arrested after they tried to distribute pamphlets during a peace walk from Chow Kit to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, where several events commemorating Workers' Day.

When the three heard that the 17 were held for seven hours without food, they promptly brought food for them, only to be detained by the police and held for a night.

Thirty reports were said to have been lodged against the police for their 'aggressive' handling of the peace walk.