A 34-year-old man lodged a police report when the side mirror of his Toyota Vios was damaged by one of the ‘1Malaysia' flags hanging along Jalan Masjid Negeri.

To his shock, after he lodged the report and gave his statement, the police issued him a RM300 compound for his delay in reporting the matter.

The incident occurred at about 11am on the first day of Chinese New Year as he was driving his car from Jalan Delima to Jalan Scotland.

NONE "When I arrive on Jalan Masjid, one of the ‘1Malaysia' flags fell from the lamp post and hit my car on my right side," lamented Chuah Hun Loon, who works as an accounts clerk from Penang.

"There were damages to my side mirror (on the right) and other damages which I have yet to ascertain," he added at a press conference today.

"But what is worse, is that after taking my statement, I was issued a RM300 compound for a delay in reporting the case. I have yet to pay for it," he stressed.

Chuah said it is ironic that he had recently - before the Chinese New Year - received the RM500 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) allowance from the federal government.

He also urged the federal government to reconsider the current insurance policy where minor damages are non-claimable, adding that "it would be useless to lodge a police report about the incident then".

NONE Chuah said the damages were probably about RM200, which he will be seeking to claim from BN, with the assistance of Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik ( left ).

Chuah held a press conference at Ng's office in Jalan Seribu Tahun, saying that the report lodged was not over a traffic offence, and questioned on why he was then handled by the traffic police at the Northeast Police Headquarters in Jalan Pattani.

He was referring to the thousands of ‘1Malaysia' flags displayed around Penang on the eve of Chinese New Year, which had been put up to welcome Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who spent two days in the state to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor, and their two children attended the state BN Chinese New Year open house at the Han Chiang College where top Korean superstar Psy or Park Jae-sung performed his four-minute famous hit 'Oppa Gangnam Style' to an audience of 30,000 .

Due to safety reasons, the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) had seized the flags as the state BN had only officially applied for a permit for about 1,000 of the flags.

Police's actions ‘unprofessional'

Ng, who is also the state DAP Socialist Youth chief, condemned the police's actions as being "uncalled for, unprofessional and very serious".

"Does it mean we cannot lodge any reports against BN? Are they protected by the police? Did the police misuse their power to protect BN and to victimise the victim?" Ng queried.

Ng said that his office will be writing to police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi, George Town OCPD Gan Kon Meng and the state BN's office about the incident.

He wants Abdul Rahim, Gan and the BN government to apologise to Chuah, urging that the compound be cancelled as the police force have yet to even identify the nature of the case.

NONE Meanwhile, MPPP Councillor Ong Ah Teong ( right ) said that Chuah's case is not uncommon, as he had previously received two other reports regarding similar incidents where the victims' vehicles had been damaged by the ‘1Malaysia' flags.

"They were afraid to go public and seek for compensation, as they may have been afraid of BN," said Ong, who attended the same press briefing organised by Ng.

Ong added that the first incident involved a student who incurred serious damages to his car - a smashed windscreen - when the flag hit his vehicle at Lebuhraya Ghaut.

The victim had been injured on his left hand during the incident, which occurred on the first day of Chinese New Year on Sunday, Feb 10.

"The other incident involved a senior citizen, who fell from his motorcycle when a similar flag had hit him along Jalan Masjid Negeri. He received scratches on his leg and hand," Ong claimed.

Malaysiakini has yet to obtain a response from the police.