A witness told the Coroner’s Court in Kuala Lumpur today that there were no bruise marks and blood stains on the mouth and body of taxi driver Baharudin Ahmad who died during an illegal assembly on July 9 last year.

A contractor, Norizwan Mohamed, 34, who admitted participating in the Bersih 2.0 assembly on that day, said he heard several shouts for help when he got to the shopping centre.

“I saw a man (Baharudin) in an unconscious state, lying down with s smile on his face. I didn’t see any signs of a broken tooth and there was no blood stain.

“I fanned him for 45 minutes and during that time, prevented anyone from\ performing the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the victim because I was afraid the technique used might not be right.

“Although I’m a member of the scouts movement myself, I dare not do it for fear of something unexpected might happen.

“It is better to wait for the ambulance and for the medical assistant to provide the necessary assistance,” he said in an inquest into Baharudin’s death.

Norizwan, who is the 27th witness, said he was also hit by the tear gas and water cannon during the assembly at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

“When I was listening to the speeches by several Bersih leaders, I heard an order for the assembly to disperse and then the police fired the tear gas and water cannon and I ran for safety,” he added.

Meanwhile, lawyer N Surendran, who is the 26th witness, told the court that he issued a statement to the media on July 16 last year concerning his disappointment with the police for saying that they were not responsible for Baharudin’s death.

Questioned by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Ishrakh Saad how could he issue such a statement when he was not at the scene, Surendran, 45, said it was based on information he gathered from witnesses after the assembly.

Surendran, who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president, said that on the day if the incident, he was the KL Sentral with several other PKR leaders.

The inquest before Coroner Zulkpli Abdullah continues tomorrow.

- Bernama