Nine more complaints were filed with the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters today calling for disciplinary action to be taken against Dang Wangi district police chief Mohd Bakri Zinin over an array of reasons ranging from brutality to arbitrary arrest.

The complaints were filed by a group of people who were involved in the aborted May Day march which saw the arrest of 15 activists.

In the incident, a scuffle erupted between police personnel and the marchers when the former were alleged to have charged the crowd without warning.

Some 50 people gathered outside the police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning but only a dozen or so had their statements recorded.

Among them were several pro tem committee members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) such as Dr Nasir Hashim, S Arutchelvan and Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj.

The crowd also displayed a banner which bore the police's slogan ' Mesra, Cekap dan Betul ' (Friendly, Efficient and Right) and called for Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai's intervention.

"We came for an official complaint. We feel oppressed," Nasir told journalists.

The PSM leader stressed that those who marched in the May Day event were peaceful.

"Yet the policemen led by Bakri ill-treated them," he said, claiming that several policemen even snatched aprons bearing the words "Workers' Rights" from the marchers.

"The duty of the police is to uphold democracy, not kill it. It was a special day. We wanted to celebrate it," he added.

PSM and several other non-governmental organisations were leading the group of some 150 people, mainly estate workers, from Jalan Chow Kit to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

However, along the way, a police team led by Bakri ordered the crowd to disperse saying that they were staging an illegal assembly and things took a turn for the worse.

According to Nasir although the marchers were distributing brochures to the public that day, they were not unruly nor were they obstructing traffic.

"We were very organised. But, it was very clear that the police were violent that day," he said.

No response

Meanwhile, Arutchelvan said that the federal police chief has yet to respond despite two letters on the incident being sent to him.

He also added that more than 50 police reports have been lodged nationwide, mostly against Bakri and his officers from the Dang Wangi police headquarters.

Since no action had been initiated to date, the disgruntled complainants were forced to bring the matter to Bukit Aman's doorstep.

"This is our last resort," said Arutchelvan.

The social activist also expressed hope that action will be taken against their complaints.

"Having such police officer in-charge of a police district in Kuala Lumpur is bad for the image of the country," he said.