A youth suspected of hurling a water bottle at the police during the protest at Dataran Merdeka on New Year's Eve has been surrendered to the authorities, said Solidarity Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) which is one of the co-organisers of the event.
 
When contacted, SAMM propaganda director Edy Noor Reduan said he does not know what happened to the suspect since turning him over.
 
“He was not wearing a black shirt (like other protesters), but a blue ‘Chelsea’ jersey. We took him to the side of the field and handed him over to the police, who then whisked him away from Dataran Merdeka.
 
“We don’t know which police station he was taken to,” he said when contacted today to confirm earlier media reports of the arrest.

In an earlier press release by SAMM, the group said that it was compelled to hand over the suspect to the police because they wouldn't allow the action of a single individual to tarnish the peaceful objectives of 10,000 protesters.

 
The protest on the night of Dec 31 was held at Dataran Merdeka, where a concert organised by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was taking place.
 
Some 10,000 people turned up for the largely peaceful protest, organised by a group of NGOs led by Gerakan Turun Kos Sara Hidup (Turun), in protest against government policies which has led to the rise in the cost of essential goods.
 
At least two police personnel were reportedly injured by the protesters.
 
Authorities had earlier claimed that the rally would turn violent and is intended to topple the government, for which the organisers have denied and threatend to sue the police.