A Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) team was ordered to fire chemical-laced water on Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 last year, even though the Tung Shin Hospital was located nearby.

NONE ASP Ahmad Halimi Hamidi, who was in charge of team during the Bersih 2.0 rally, said he initially complied with the order to disperse rally participants.

Halimi said he then pointed out the hospital signage to a field commandant, identified as ‘ASP Karthik’, but was told again to "fire at the rioters".

"Unfortunately the main road and the hospital are close together," Halimi said.

Tear gas and chemical-laced water were launched at the multi-level car park of Tung Shin Hospital to disperse rally participants seeking refuge in the hospital compound.

Yesterday, Sergeant Idzha Salim had admitted that he fired the water cannon at the crowd and the hospital, without knowing about the existence of the hospital until he was informed later.

Recounting the July 9 incident, Halimi said he was sent to Dataran Merdeka and later in the day told to move towards Jalan Pudu.

NONE Since he was in charge of the FRU deployment, he took position on top of the command vehicle, which was just behind the water cannon truck.

Suhakam panel chairperson Khaw Lake Tee ( left ) asked if Halimi knew that a water cannon truck was close to the hospital.

“Water canon, I’m not sure. I know I told ASP Karthik that there was a hospital there. I saw the hospital clearly because I was on top of the truck,” he replied.

Khaw then asked if the FRU was instructed to fire the water cannon at the crowd inside the hospital, but Halimi evaded giving a direct answer.

“They (the riot squad members) also have their SOP (standard operating procedures)... I don’t want to view this negatively on my officer... he has done a good job, and his vision (was probably) blurred.

'Riot equipment from dinosaur age'

“We have logistics issues... the water cannon truck that we use is from the dinosaur age, not modern,” he said.

“I told ASP Karthik that there is a hospital and ASP Karthik said, ‘fire at rioters’,” said Halimi, adding that he followed the order and instructed his menn to use anti-riot weapon to disperse the crowd.

“The crowd dispersed. Mission accomplished,” he said.

The panel asked whether tear gas was fired into  the hospital compound, to which Halimi said seven tear gas canisters were launched.

“We used only seven (canisters)... it is the minimum, seven shots... but I’m not sure if these fell into the hospital compound. All I know is that they were fired at the rioters.”

Prior to this Halimi said, his order was to disperse any gathering or mob at Dataran Merdeka and in the surrounding areas.

Richard Wee, who is holding a watching brief for the Bar Council, asked whether the order to fire the water cannon was issued “simply because they (the supporters) were standing in the middle of the road”.

Halimi retorted that the demonstrators had infuriated the riot squad members by hurling foul language at them and throwing water bottles and stones at the water cannon truck.

“I gave orders to the crowd to disperse because they were blocking our path, but they were aggressive.

I had to ensure the safety of my officers on the frontline, as the rioters had damaged a police vehicle... so I gave the order to fire the water cannon,” he added.

The inquiry resumes tomorrow with two more witnesses.

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